Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Illegal Brooklyn hostel shut down by DOB

From BushwickBK:

On Friday, June 24, the Department of Buildings vacated all residents of the New York Empire Hostel, operating in an industrially zoned building at 269 Meserole St. in East Williamsburg. Inspectors evacuated 50-60 guests, claiming the visitors were in “imminent danger” if they continued their stay. Authorities received a tip that some 30 people were housed in one loft where rooms reportedly lacked windows and were subject to poor sprinkler coverage.

The New York Empire Hostel charged visitors $50/night to room with up to 12 people in what the now-defunct website termed the “Heart of Hip Williamsburg.”

The Dept. of Buildings reported full-height walls cutting up units, up to 12 bunks per room, and improper fire-safety systems, in addition to unpermitted bathrooms.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

When does the city start collecting the seriously past due fines. Are we ever going to get paid. This system is stupid, all the city can do is issue summones but the problem is they don't have the power to enforce payment of the fines. THIS SYSTEM IS A JOKE AND THE BUILDING OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS KNOW IT.

Anonymous said...

DOB inspector only gave a stop work order on April 1 without issuing a vacate order (the vacate order was giving in late June after 3 more complaints). What a joke!

Anonymous said...

We all agree one word saids it all. joke

Anonymous said...

1 down, 100,000 to go