For Immediate Release: March 31, 2021
Conact: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov, (212) 393-2126

DOB ISSUES MONTHLY ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN

Report Highlights DOB Enforcement Outcomes from February 2021 to Deter Bad Actors and Keep New Yorkers Safe

New York, NY – Today, the New York City Department of Buildings released its February 2021 enforcement bulletin, which provides highlights of the agency’s actions to sanction and deter bad actors in the construction industry through the enforcement of safety laws and codes of conduct for construction professionals. Today’s bulletin includes summaries of DOB-imposed disciplinary actions, including penalties and license suspensions and revocations.

The actions below represent a portion of DOB’s overall work to enforce the City’s building codes and safety laws, in addition to the thousands of inspections conducted and violations issued by the agency each month for illegal building and construction conditions.

DOB took a number of major enforcement actions in February, including:

• 59 violations and $1,115,012 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal building alterations at seven locations.
• 23 violations and $232,000 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal transient use at six separate locations.
• 39 violations and $450,000 in penalties issued for failure to safeguard construction sites on 37 separate occasions.
• 12 violations and $120,000 in penalties issued to 11 different individuals for failure to carry out duties of construction superintendents.

Below are individual enforcement highlights for February 2021:

Bronx

• $105,000 in total penalties issued to Ved Parkash, owner of 750 Grand Concourse, for illegally converting more than three dwellings and for adding single room occupancies (SRO) in various apartments.

• $68,500 in total penalties, including daily penalties, issued to Watson France, owner of 828 Faile Street, Bronx, for performing work without a permit in creating three illegal SROs in the cellar as well as two bathrooms and a shared kitchen.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to General Contractor SKF Contractors, for failure to safeguard a construction site at 246 Echo Place, Bronx, after C-joists collapsed and fell from the 7th to the 6th floor while workers were loading cement boards using a boom truck, injuring two workers.

• $5,000 in penalties issued to Tracking Number Holder Urena Construction & Design Inc. for failure to comply with Executive Orders regarding COVID-19 health and safety regulations, including not having the required COVID-19 safety measures signage, no cleaning station logs, nor a contact communication plan at a construction site at 157 West 179th Street, Bronx.

Brooklyn

• $380,500 in total penalties, including daily penalties, issued to 902 55th Street LLC, owners of 902 55th Street, Brooklyn, after DOB inspectors found the legal two-family house had been converted to 19 SROs with 24 beds. Additional violations were issued for failure to maintain the property and for performing work without a permit.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to Tracking Number Holder Trane U.S. Inc. for failure to safeguard a site at 1041 Foster Avenue, Brooklyn after DOB inspectors found a HVAC replacement on the roof area not properly protected, which caused a leak and ceiling tiles to fall in at least five apartments and in the hallway below.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to Tracking Number Holder MBC Construction Corp. for failure to safeguard, after a DOB inspection of the site at 965 46th Street, found interior demolition work caused cracking at a 2nd floor wall. DOB inspectors also found the site had inadequate shoring using wood bracing.

• $20,000 in total penalties issued to General Contractor Park Remodeling LLC for failure to safeguard a construction site at 482 East 21st Street, Brooklyn, after DOB inspectors found workers placing planks 30 feet high without tying off. Additional violations were issued for not having a Site Safety Manager or Construction Superintendent on site at an active construction site.

• $14,100 in total penalties issued to 130 Vandst LLC for multiple violations at 130 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, including for installing a boiler and HVAC, as well as performing electrical work, all without a permit. Additional summonses were issued for not having a required DOB gas inspection and for construction debris blocking access at the first-floor level.

• $12,500 in total penalties issued to Tracking Number Holder More Consulting Corp., for failure to safeguard a construction site at 164 Suydam Street, Brooklyn, after a DOB inspection found a C-Hook scaffold on a parapet wall with cracks and a bulge at the C-Hook attachment. The C-Hook equipment was also blocking the bulkhead egress.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to General Contractor King Kong GC for failure to designate a construction superintendent or competent person on an active construction site at 569 St. Marks Avenue, Brooklyn.

• $20,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant Chateau GC LLC, for not having a working standpipe at two construction sites. DOB inspectors visited 911 Erskine Street, Brooklyn, the site of a nine-story building under construction, and found it lacked a required working standpipe. DOB inspectors also found the six-story building at 11629 Seaview Avenue, Brooklyn, which was also under construction, without a working standpipe.

• $5,000 in penalties issued to General Contractor Bin R Eng/JB Max Enterprise Corp. for failure to comply with Executive Orders regarding COVID-19 health and safety regulations, including not having required COVID-19 safety measures signage, no cleaning logs, and no communication plan at a construction site at 29 Frost Street, Brooklyn.

• $2,500 in penalties issued to General Contractor AKI Renovation Group Armory Builder III LLC for having an inadequate Tenant Protection Plan at a construction site in an occupied building at 285 6th Avenue, Brooklyn. The plans lacked specific measures to address fire and health safety for the tenants.

• $80,000 in penalties issued to 1148 Flatbush Avenue LLC and Lamar Advertising of Penn LLC, for displaying two advertising signs without permits in a prohibited zone at 1148 Flatbush Avenue.

• $20,000 in penalties issued to 56 West LLC, for displaying an advertising sign at 42 West Street, Brooklyn without a permit, in a prohibited zone, and within 200 feet of a park. The sign was removed prior to the first hearing date, so mitigated penalties were imposed.

Manhattan

• $5,000 in penalties issued to Tracking Number Holder VMMA Construction LLC for failure to comply with Executive Orders regarding COVID-19 health and safety regulations, after a DOB inspection found no mandatory logs and three workers present without masks on a construction site at 141 East 56th Street, Manhattan.

• $2,500 in total penalties issued to Sunshine Capital Inc for failing to have a Tenant Protection Plan (TPP) and a construction bill of rights notice posted, as required, at a construction site in an occupied building at 621 West 171 Street, Manhattan.

Queens

• $302,500 in total penalties, with daily penalties, issued to Dechang Yee, owner of 132-05 Avery Avenue, Queens, for work without a permit and performing illegal conversions after DOB inspectors found the two-family home with a doctor’s office on the first floor had been illegally converted to a seven-family home.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant R. King Window Corp., for failure to designate a construction superintendent and for not having a competent person on an active site at 6425 Central Avenue, Queens.

• $10,000 in total penalties issued to Safety Registrant MKB Construction USA LLC for failure to safeguard a site at 32-58 105th Street, Queens, after DOB inspectors found no guardrails on balconies of the seven-story building under construction. DOB inspectors also issued violations for an unsafe supported scaffold found at the site, and for failure to comply with Executive Orders regarding COVID-19 health and safety regulations, including not having cleaning and disinfection logs, nor logs of those who may have had close contact with others, no signage reminding everyone on site to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols while on site, and no cleaning items.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to General Contractor 1 Oak Contracting LLC for failure to designate a site safety coordinator while performing excavation work at 29-17 40th Avenue, Queens.

• $5,000 in penalties imposed against Hillside 153 LLC, for displaying an outdoor advertising sign in a prohibited zone at 153-25 Hillside Avenue, Queens. The sign was removed prior to the first hearing date, so mitigated penalties were imposed.

• The owners of 86-86 Midland Parkway, Queens were cited for using the premises as a contractor’s yard and for dead vehicle and junk storage. A re-inspection by DOB confirmed that the illegal use of the premises had continued. Prior to a second hearing scheduled with OATH, a stipulation was entered into, giving the owners until March 31, 2021 to comply with orders to revert the property back to its prior legal condition.

Construction and Design Professionals

• Following an audit of four professionally certified applications submitted by Registered Architect Dario Pasquariello, the Department found major code non-compliances, including filing Alteration Type 2 applications despite proposing changes in use, egress and/or occupancy, which require Alteration Type 1 applications for a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy; failure to provide adequate means of egress; failure to provide accessibility for persons with disabilities; and various other violations of code and rules, including the Zoning Resolution and Multiple Dwelling Law. Based on the audits, the Department offered a voluntary surrender of his Professional Certification and Directive 14 privileges, which Mr. Pasquariello agreed to and signed on February 8, 2021.

• Following an audit of four professionally certified applications submitted by Professional Engineer Angelo Skalafuris, the Department found major code non-compliances, including filing Alteration Type 2 applications despite proposing changes in use, egress and/or occupancy, which require Alteration Type 1 applications for a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy; failure to provide adequate fire rated materials and fire separation; failure to provide adequate means of egress; failure to provide accessibility for persons with disabilities; and various other violations of code and rules, including the Zoning Resolution and Multiple Dwelling Law. Based on the audits, the Department offered a voluntary surrender of his Professional Certification and Directive 14 privileges, which Mr. Skalafuris accepted and signed on February 11, 2021.

• Master Electrician Eric Vitale was disciplined after a DOB investigation found that he allowed workers who were not on his company payroll to perform electrical work. He was also disciplined for failure to be properly established. Mr. Vitale agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and to one year of probation. The stipulation was fully executed on February 4, 2021.

• Master Electrician Michael Scheffler was disciplined for failing to correct DOB-issued violations in a timely manner and for failure to be properly established. Mr. Scheffler agreed to pay a $2,500 fine and to one year of probation. The stipulation was fully executed on February 11, 2021.

For previously issued Enforcement Action Bulletins, please visit our website.