For Immediate Release:
February 7, 2018
CONTACT: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov,
(212) 393-2126

DOB ISSUES FIRST-EVER MONTHLY ENFORCEMENT ACTION REPORT

New Report Highlights Recent DOB Enforcement Actions
to Deter Bad Actors and Keep New Yorkers Safe

New York, NY – The New York City Department of Buildings today released its first-ever monthly enforcement report, which details the agency’s actions to sanction and deter bad actors in the construction industry through enforcement of safety laws and codes of conduct for construction professionals. Today’s report is the first installment in what will be monthly summaries on DOB-imposed disciplinary actions, including issuing fines, license suspensions and revocations.

“Contractors and other construction professionals who threaten public and worker safety should take warning – you’re not only risking heavy fines, but we’re also going to be calling you out publicly,” said Buildings Commissioner Rick D. Chandler, PE. “We’re modernizing DOB to increase transparency in everything we do, including the disciplinary actions we take against those who put others in harm’s way.”

In December 2017, DOB's Legal & Regulatory Affairs Unit took more than 130 disciplinary actions against bad actors in the building trades, including:

• $120,000 in fines issued to 12 different individuals for failure to carry out duties as construction superintendents.

• $180,000 in fines issued for failure to safeguard construction sites at 18 different locations.

• A total of $265,400 in fines, including daily penalties, issued for illegal building alterations at 14 different locations.

• A total of $214,850 fines, including daily penalties, issued for illegal transient use of buildings at 7 different locations.

• 7 hearings scheduled with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings for the illegal use of properties for the storage of commercial construction materials, dead vehicles, and commercial automobile repair facilities.

Below are individual enforcement highlights for December 2017:

• $37,500 in fines issued to contractor Dvir Mog 18, Inc., after a worker fell and was injured at a construction site at 2881 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn.  The contractor was also disciplined for failing to report the incident to DOB.

• $25,000 in fines issued to contractor New Line Structures, after a worker fell through a hole on a roof deck at 26-01 1st Street in Queens. The worker was not utilizing proper safety equipment and plywood covering holes in the deck was not properly secured.

• As a result of DOB violations and the issuance of a criminal summons, the owner of a synagogue at 1227 47th Street in Brooklyn was ordered to pay $22,500 in fines for violating various stop work and full vacate orders by continuing to assemble in a structurally unsound building.

• $40,000 in fines issued to 2259 Richmond Avenue LLC for displaying illegal advertising signage on a busy Staten Island roadway.

• The 2-year suspension of full filing privileges, and starting in March 2018, the permanent revocation of the professional certification and Directive 14 privileges of Russell Dance, PE, for illegally filing professionally certified applications with DOB while on probation.

• $10,000 in fines and a 1-year probation period issued to licensed site safety manager Henry Marina for submitting false and misleading documents regarding an 18-month site-safety manager training program.

These actions represent a portion of DOB’s overall work to enforce the City’s building codes and safety laws, in addition to the hundreds of inspections conducted and violations issued by the agency each month for illegal building and construction conditions. Each monthly report will include a summary of these enforcement actions, highlighting specific cases and incidents after the Department’s data has been fully compiled and reviewed.