A look inside an illegal conversion

Brooklyn Daily/Arthur de Gaeta

From Brooklyn Daily:

A Bay Ridge property owner who told the city he was doing a little renovation hacked off the front of a 94th Street residence, and now the exposed interior is giving people a peek inside an illegally converted home, locals say. The hammer-happy homeowner got a permit to do light work inside the house, but instead he ripped off the whole front wall and tossed it in a dumpster. Complaints that the owner illegally converted the basement into living space date back to 2006, city records show. Area pols promised legislation combating illegal conversions earlier this year, but the package of bills has stalled, leaving many community activists scratching their heads as illegal renovation continues to tear apart their neighborhoods.

The Department of Buildings hit a construction site at 78th Street and Ninth Avenue with a stop work order Nov. 6 after an inspector discovered the owner installed two new electrical panels without a permit, records show. Now, [Council Member] Gentile is demanding the city slap the 94th Street building owner with a stop work order before he defaces the building any further.