Not your routine stop work order

In the 12 years we've been at this (has it really been that long?) we've come across a number of SWOs posted on buildings. But the story behind this one at 64-00 Metropolitan Ave is like none ever profiled here before.

You can learn a new way to get an ECB violation every day around these parts.

And wait, there's more! The plot thickens...

There are a slew of complaints about this building, and they're interesting to read.

Eyebrow-raising apartment listing in LIC

"Hello QC,

I walked into an open house for several apartments at 36-10 11th St in Queens this weekend and I noticed a telltale sign that the building might have been illegally subdivided. The apartment buzzer on the front only listed three apartments, even thought there are 4 newly remodeled units in the building. There are 3 of the apartments currently listed on the Corcoran website, the link below is for the rear half of the illegally subdivided first floor unit. According to old blueprints for the building which are available on StreetEasy, the first floor used to be a single apartment. There have been no permits issued by DOB for any work recent work in the building, and the building does have a history of illegal dwelling units. Several years ago it received a violation for an illegal unit in the cellar.

After I noticed the illegal subdivided units I decided I was not interested in any of the apartments in the building because I don't want a landlord who cuts corners and who is willing to break the law to earn a few extra dollars.

Can you please provide any advice on how to handle this and similar situations I may find as I continue my apartment hunting in Queens? I opened a complaint with the DOB. Should I also complain to Corcoran that I am concerned about their reputation as a quality realtor when they show and list illegal units on their website?"

~ApartmentHunter in Queens
_____________________________________________________

Well, this is an interesting case. The "corrective action" recommended for the illegal cellar apartment was to obtain a permit. However, cellars can't be legalized. Then the violation was dismissed without penalty. I wonder what the details were on that.

I certainly would notify the realtor about this. They likely won't care, but if they get caught showing illegal units, they could lose their license.

Always, always, ALWAYS check a building's C of O and history of violations before signing a lease and moving in.

Hipster beer beach shut down by DOB

It's really gotta suck to be one of these "urban pioneers" and find out the hard way that the shit you're peddling ain't going over with certain community minded folk. Let's take the Ridgewood beer beach. It got shut down by the DOB just before tomorrow's scheduled grand opening. Why? Well they are doing construction on a building without a permit.

The C of O for this property also does not allow a "beer beach" or whatever the hell this thing is supposed to be.

But you wanna know what's really amusing about this? They are trying to pass off their delayed opening as a concession to the community. From QNS:

Marcus Burnett, co-owner of Rockaway Brewing Company, which is hosting La Playa NYC, is working to address the community’s issues with the beer garden.

“We are trying to work with Community Board 5 and we understand that residents are raising concerns,” Burnett said. “One common misconception is that there is going to be live bands or live music. There will be no live bands and no DJ parties, that’s for sure.”

No live music or DJs? Then please explain this previous statement:

Throughout the summer La Playa NYC will also feature local talent including DJs, guest chefs, beer talks and special performances, ensuring a summer of beach, beer and fun for the whole community.

Here's the cherry on top of this shit sundae:

The opening of La Playa NYC depends on the results of the SLA hearing, which is scheduled to take place later this month.

So you were going to open without a liquor permit, but as a favor to the community, decided to wait until you actually had the SLA hearing? How wonderful of you.

Wilson Street illegal excavation leads to cave-in

From NBC:

Several workers had to be dug out of the ground by firefighters after ground they were working in outside a Brooklyn rowhouse gave way Monday, burying them up to their waists in dirt, fire officials said.

The workers were digging an extension in the yard of a rowhouse on Wilson Street in Williamsburg that was under renovation at the time of the accident, authorities said. Two of the buried workers had to be dug out by firefighters; a third was able to extricate himself from the dirt.

The men suffered minor injuries.

NBC 4 New York has learned the building owner did not have a permit for the construction work.

The Department of Buildings put stop-work orders on the landlord's building and evacuated several neighboring buildings, including a home and a synagogue, as a precaution. Dismissal at a nearby school was also modified.

Last Thanksgiving's exploded house still not repaired

From the Queens Chronicle:

Almost a year after an explosion blew a gaping hole in the rear of a house in South Ozone Park last Thanksgiving, a full-vacate order is still placed on it and there have been complaints of illegal construction going on there, according to city Department of Buildings records.

The house, located at 107-55 108 St., was the scene of an explosion due to the misuse of a stove in an “illegally renovated setback apartment,” FDNY officials told the Queens Chronicle last December.

A full-vacate order was immediately placed on the property by the DOB, due to the structural stability being affected, which at press time on Nov. 24 was still effective.

A Chronicle reporter saw last Friday that the hole in the back of the house had been fixed, though any work done to the house may not have been done lawfully.

There have been two complaints of illegal construction on the house, city records state, the first of which stated there was no building permit posted on March 17.

Owner of f*cked up Flushing house speaks

From the Queens Chronicle:

[Eddie] Peralta told the Queens Chronicle all is not as it seems.

He adamantly denied that he intends to enlarge the house.

As for why the siding and roof were removed, he said the previous owner put layer upon layer on without removing the first piece and he feared the roof was about to collapse, later showing pictures to a Chronicle reporter that apparently proved his claim. He is in the process of submitting those plans to the DOB now, he said, and intends on going back to work if those plans are approved.

Why no construction fence? He only needs one if new construction is occurring, something he denies is happening.

At least two people don’t buy Peralta’s story.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said the pictures he’s seen of the house show something more than “minor renovations” going on.

“If that’s the case,” Avella said of Peralta’s claim the roof came off for safety reasons, “then he has to reamend the permit and get a different one.”

Paul Graziano, an urban planner who has raised questions about the house, said the removal of the roof is “not a minor alteration.

“That is a major alteration,” the Flushing resident continued, adding he, too, believes that if the homeowner does not intend to enlarge, he should file different permits.

F*cked up in Flushing

This house at 30-35 150th Street in Flushing is kind of cute, eh? Well don't get too attached to it.

This is what the homeowner/architect applied to do to it.

This is what they actually did to it.

So tell me, how is a project that was audited and found to be non-compliant, with a "notice to revoke letter" sent out in June, allowed to continue into September - a partial demolition - with no construction fence and without the proper permits?

Worker didn't have to die

From the Daily News:

A worker who fell to his death at a Midtown construction site was riding an elevator powered by an “unsafe” jerry-rigged electrical system, the Daily News has learned.

Christian Ginesi and a co-worker were on a temporary hoist — common at construction sites — headed to the top of a hotel being built on Eighth Ave. on May 5 when the lift stalled between the 24th and 25th floors.

Ginesi’s colleague successfully jumped from the lift to the lower floor, but Ginesi slipped and plummeted 24 stories to his death.

Since then, city building inspectors looking into the cause of the accident discovered the lift suddenly lost power that day, and the electrical system that powered it was installed without a permit.

The elevator relied on “unapproved, unsafe, unsuitable electrical equipment” that shouldn’t have been in use, documents show.

Carnegie Deli has illegal gas hookup

From the Daily News:

On Friday, officials discovered an illegal hookup in the basement at Carnegie Deli, officials said. The owners, 854 Carnegie Real Estate Corp., were cited for “work without a permit — illegal gas connection to Carnegie Deli,” documents show.

The department discovered “new gas piping fittings, hangers to commercial cooking,” the records state. Sources familiar with the matter said it appeared the device tampered with the meter and allowed owners to lower their bills.

Inside the shuttered restaurant, a man who identified himself as a manager declined to comment.

No permit at site of fatal roof collapse

From SI Live:

The construction company tasked with performing the demolition of the old Dana Ford Lincoln car dealership in Travis, where a worker was killed Friday after the ceiling collapsed, did not have a permit to operate on the premises, Buildings Department records show.

Port Richmond-based Formica Construction had obtained seven permits related to construction at the West Service Road site since last August, but none are currently valid, records show. The most recent permit expired on Aug. 15.

Officials at the buildings department could not be reached Saturday, but a complaint report on the agency's website states that, "Unpermitted interior demolition caused the mezzanine level to partially collapse to grade."

The buildings department placed the site under a full stop work order following Friday's fatal incident.

Factory illegally converted into yeshiva

From DNA Info:

A yeshiva is illegally using a factory building as a school and has racked up a litany of complaints about illegal construction, according to Department of Buildings records.

Neighbors have a laundry list of grievances about United Talmudical Academy, located at 25 Waverly Ave., which include the use of the street as a parking lot for school buses and students who harass women in nearby buildings and throw garbage out the window.

Now neighbors say the school is doing construction — including waterproofing the roof and working on the elevator shaft — without a permit at all hours of day and night.

Four complaints were made to the DOB on Nov. 6, prompting the department's emergency response team, which responds to complaints that are deemed hazardous and in need of immediate attention, to inspect the building.

One caller said that they were doing work on the building after 6 p.m. during the week and all day on Sunday, records show.

Inspectors issued a stop work order on the site the next day because of construction work being done in the building's elevator shaft without a permit, according to the DOB.

The agency found that workers were weatherproofing an abandoned shaft, had made illegal partitions and were using the building as a school illegally, the records show.

Two violations were also issued — for work without a permit that includes weatherproofing being done on the roof and occupancy contrary to use for a factory building being used as a school.

Over the next several days 12 more complaints were made to the department about continued construction at the building despite the DOB's order to stop.

A complaint made on Nov. 10 describes construction taking place at 2 a.m. on a Monday.

Gut renovation done without approval

65-11 Grand Avenue in Maspeth has been in rough shape for a really long time. Rumor had it that a reclusive elderly lady lived inside - alone - who couldn't keep the place up. So it was a relief to many to finally see a scaffold erected and work begin on the property.

Alas, the operation was quickly shut down, and now the rickety shrouded scaffold remains. (It usually helps to get approval of your plans before you start gutting the place.)

Squatter's paradise

Well, well, look what we have here. A corner property at 62-02 60 Place all boarded up. I wonder what the hell happened? It doesn't look burnt, but it's a hot mess for sure.
DOB records reveal that there are complaints about squatters/kids breaking in at night, work without a permit, illegal curb cut.
There's also a partial vacate order after the inspector found illegal conversion throughout the building. Good luck getting a response to your notice, DOB.

Deadly worksite shut down

From NY1:

The Department of Buildings has slammed a contractor with 41 violations after a construction worker fell to his death from a Midtown office building Monday.

Most of the violations against Stonehenge Restoration were related to safety.

The DOB said the worker who died was not wearing a harness before falling 12 stories onto a sidewalk shed.

Officials said there was also a lack of guardrails and no sign the scaffolding was inspected daily.

Other violations were for work without a permit, illegal signs and failure to report an accident.

The DOB immediately issued a full stop work order.

Huang fined for Klein Farm tree massacre

From the Queens Chronicle:

Summonses have been issued to Audrey Realty Corp., owners of Klein farm at 194-15 73 Ave., for two separate violations following the illegal removal of trees.

According to the Department of Buildings, the first hearing, which will be held at the Queens Business Center at 144-06 94 Ave. in Jamaica, is set for Jan. 28 and addresses a violation for working without a permit, citing the illegal tree removal and extension of a driveway. The standard fine is for $800 with a default of $4,000.

The second hearing, which is for a zoning violation for modification of the landscape, is scheduled for Feb. 4. An $800 fine is also set with a default of $4,000. Both hearings can be avoided if the owners admit to the violations and pay the fines by Jan. 21 and Jan. 27, respectively.

Worker trapped where he shouldn't have been working

From NY1:

The worker was pinned under the pressure of hundreds of pounds of mud. Every time rescuers thought they'd be able to pull him out, he kept sliding deeper in.

"He was facing forward, but his legs were going back under him," said Chief Richard Portello of the FDNY Rescue Battalion.

Firefighters got the call that the man was trapped in the 25-foot hole at about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The victim's brother said he was working and tried to release a chain but was buried in dirt up to his chest.

The Department of Buildings said the crew was doing excavation work for a home that does not have a permit.

A stop-work order was issued when inspectors found workers had failed to install proper shoring that likely contributed to the collapse.

Address is: 119-21 83rd Avenue

Contractor screws homeowner twice

Hindu temple cries racism after DOB violations

From the Queens Courier:

A Hindu temple in Richmond Hill has been battling with the Department of Buildings (DOB), after the mandir was hit with several violations that both the building owner and priest say were incorrect and unfair.

The DOB began to issue violations in January for working without permits on electricity and plumbing, said Ali Mahmood, who owns the building on 101st Avenue. He went on to say that the DOB claimed the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for the structure was not listed as commercial.

Mahmood took the agency to court and argued that since the structure was erected before 1938, it did not require a C of O. The entire block, he said, was actually mixed-use and he had been paying commercial taxes on the building for years.

The next court hearing will be on Tuesday, August 21, and Mahmood said he will now have a lawyer with him.

Mahin Gosine, the mandir’s priest and a sociology professor, said the larger problem was the city’s attitude toward the Indian community. Right now, he said, the city was enforcing its power on the community to the point where residents feel it is discrimination.

“This is a form of behavior that’s meted out toward the whole Indian community,” Gosine said.

Unfortunately, this poorly written article left out some important details, like the address of the offending building and what its use has been since 1938.

Crazy Corona Crapitecture

So I was walking down Roosevelt Avenue, going about my business, when this "house" caught my eye.

If you're saying to yourself, "That thing CAN'T be legal, rest assured, it's not!

I looked through all the info on DOB's site, and connected the following dots:
The owner of 108-41 Roosevelt Avenue applied for an alteration permit back in 2002. It was reissued in 2006. The permit was revoked in 2007 and a stop work order remains in effect.

So now you're saying, "But that house looks lived in." Why yes, it is - with no C of O because the SWO was never rescinded and the revoked permits were never reissued.

Basically, what we have here is an illegally built house with illegally rented units.

And when complaints about an illegal nightclub being run out of the basement were called in to DOB, they passed it off on the NYPD.

One of the more recent complaints from September 2011 still has not been addressed:

"THIS HOME HAS GUTTED OUT THE BASEMENT AND IS RENTED OUT FOR PARTIES. THIS IS USED AS AN ILLEGAL CLUB AND ABOUT 100 PEOPLE INCLUDING CHILDREN UNDER 12 ARE IN ATTENDANCE. THEY ALSO BRING ALCOHOL & MUSIC."

A similar complaint from earlier this month apparently means shady activity is still going on here.

Hey DOB: Call FDNY and have the place vacated and sealed already.

All this crap going on and I didn't even touch on the top floor of the house hanging over the driveway and the column of balconies in the shadow of the el...

Welcome to Queens!
(Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Helen Marshall, Borough President)

Supermarket owner owes a lot of fines

From the Times Ledger:

New York Mart, the new owner of the shuttered Key Food supermarket in Flushing, owes the city thousands of dollars in fines after failing for more than a month to comply with a stop-work order, according to city records.

The supermarket chain, which was busy converting the space into the fifth location of the Asian food market, has been fined $15,000 by the city Department of Buildings since July 27 for a series of violations, the department’s records show. The fines had not been paid as of Tuesday afternoon, a DOB spokeswoman said.

On July 27, the department issued a partial stop-work order on the property at 142-41 Roosevelt Ave. for working without a permit and it mandated that all interior work be stopped, the spokeswoman said. On Aug. 18, the property was cited for not having construction plans its owner submitted to the department on hand at the site, and on Aug. 26 a full stop-work order was issued, barring all work on the property until the fines are paid.

The building was cited on Sept. 1 for violating that order, according to DOB records. On that date, the department inspected the site after area resident Mary Ann Boroz said she and a group of neighbors complained to the agency and local officials about what she described as illegal excavation going on in the basement of the property.

She said she believed the work was being done in order to create a basement parking facility, a concern two local community leaders said they also had. William Chen, general manager of New York Mart, could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but indicated in writing in July that he intended to provide parking at the location “if it is approved by the city.” No new parking has been approved for the site.

“Back in July, I took photographs of what was coming out of the back of the building and it was slabs of concrete and dirt and wood,” Boroz said. “Long story short, he claimed it was debris. It wasn’t debris. Where do you have slabs of concrete just hanging around? I turned the pictures over to the Department of Buildings, Community Board 7 and Peter Koo,” the Republican Councilman from Flushing. The location was also cited for failure to obey the original stop-work order Aug. 31, when the DOB inspected the store and found “men performing concrete work at rear of supermarket,” “work contrary to [stop-work order]” and “failure to protect persons and property affected by construction operations,” according to DOB records.

James McClelland, a spokesman for Koo, said he warned Chen that if he wanted to do work at the Key Food site, he needed to hire an architect who is aware of building codes and other laws.

“I told him, ‘If you’re going to operate, you’ve got to operate above the board because the community is watching you.’ So shame on him,” McClelland said Tuesday after hearing about the stop-work order.

McClelland said that when he heard residents’ concerns about possible illegal work at the site, Koo was quick to meet with the DOB, which McClelland said he advised not to “drag their feet” in responding to the complaints.

Koo will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that any work occurring at the site is entirely legal, according to McClelland.

“I may call him in now and ask him what’s going on,” he said.