Press Release - Buildings

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For Immediate Release:
September 28, 2018
CONTACT: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov,
(212) 393-2126

DOB ISSUES MONTHLY ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN

Report Highlights DOB Enforcement Outcomes from August 2018 to Deter Bad Actors and Keep New Yorkers Safe

New York, NY – Today, The New York City Department of Buildings released its August 2018 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 August, including:

A total of 30 violations and $320,975 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal building alterations on 10 separate occasions.
A total of 46 violations and $427,375 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal transient use of buildings at 8 different locations.
43 violations and $610,030 in penalties issued for failure to safeguard construction sites on 40 separate occasions.
10 violations and $100,000 in penalties issued to 10 different individuals for failure to carry out duties as construction superintendents.

Below are individual enforcement highlights for August 2018:

$33,000 in penalties issued to property owner UMK Holdings LLC for failure to safeguard and for illegal work without a permit at 1967 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, after DOB inspectors found multiple apartments that had undergone gut renovations, and for plumbing fixtures, water piping and waste lines that were removed without a DOB work permit.
$80,000 in penalties issued to property owner Richard Breslaw Limited Family Partnership for operating an apartment at 614 11th Avenue, Manhattan, as an illegal transient hotel, and for a failure to comply with previously issued violations.
$78,750 in penalties issued to property owner Thera Realty, Inc. for operating four apartments in a five-story multiple dwelling apartment building at 323 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, as an illegal transient hotel, and for missing automatic sprinklers and inadequate egress.
$65,625 in penalties issued to property owner Calvary Baptist Church for operating a multiple dwelling apartment building at 123 West 57th Street, Manhattan, as an illegal transient hotel, and for missing automatic sprinklers.
$17,000 in penalties issued to property owner Ming Feng Liu for the illegal alteration of an existing legal apartment at 132-35 Sanford Avenue, Queens, into 4 illegal single room occupancy (SRO) units.
$22,000 in penalties issued to property owner Jia Wang Dong for the illegal alteration of an existing legal apartment at 1415 71st Street, Brooklyn, into 4 illegal single room occupancy (SRO) units.
$30,500 in penalties issued to property owner 124-136 East 117 LLC for the illegal alteration of an existing legal apartment at 124 East 117th Street, Manhattan, into four illegal single room occupancy (SRO) units, and operating those SROs as illegal transient hotel rentals.
$53,475 in penalties issued to property owner Chanderdai Lutchman for the illegal conversation of a cellar at 86-31 102nd Road, Queens, into two Class A apartments without proper DOB permits, and also for a failure to maintain the building.
$26,500 in penalties issued to property owner 3143-3147 Broadway LLC for the illegal alteration of an existing legal apartment at 3147 Broadway, Manhattan, into three illegal single room occupancy (SRO) units, and operating those SROs as illegal transient hotel rentals.
$25,000 in penalties issued to Construction Superintendent David Colagiovanni for a failure to perform the duties of a Construction Superintendent, after DOB inspectors found the construction site at 834 Herkimer Street, Brooklyn, was improperly open and accessible to the public, was missing required guard rails, and was missing required information in the Superintendent’s log book.
$25,000 in penalties issued to property owner AR Central Properties LLC for a failure to maintain 219 Central Avenue, Brooklyn, after DOB inspectors observed that an exterior wall was bulging at one side, the chimney had partially collapsed, and the parapet wall was leaning.
$25,000 in penalties issued to Registered General Contractor Galaxy Developers, LLC for a failure to safeguard a construction site at 42-20 27th Street, Queens, after a worker’s hard hat fell 14 stories to the ground below, outside of the perimeter fence.
$10,000 in penalties issued to contractor J.C. Steel for operating a crane in an unsafe manner, after DOB inspectors observed that the crane at 40-10 99th Street, Queens, was set up 100 feet from where it was supposed to be as indicated on the plans.
$10,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant D.F. Pray for operating a crane in an unsafe manner, after DOB inspectors observed a mini-crane operating on the roof of 47-11 Austell Place, Queens, without the required permit, and without appropriate safety tiebacks.
$25,000 in penalties issued to Registered General Contractor Sun Sun Contracting, Inc. for a failure to safeguard a construction site at 404 11th Street, Brooklyn, after a delivery of construction materials caused a floor to collapse.
Edward Hicks, R.A., Robert Krone R.A., Xiao Jun Wang P.E., and Mohammad Baalbaki, P.E. all surrendered their Professional Certification and Directive 14 privileges to the Department, after DOB investigators determined that all had previously submitted professionally certified filings to the Department that had multiple code non-compliances.
Treldon McMillan voluntarily surrendered his Master Plumber and Fire Suppression Piping Contractor licenses following a conviction for knowingly submitting filings to the Department that contained false information.
$15,000 in penalties and a 2-year period of probation was issued to Master Electrician Morgan Toren for using workers not on his payroll to perform work, failing to have proper insurance, failing to be properly established, and for using a business not registered with the Department to obtain electrical work contractors.
$6,500 in penalties and a 2-year period of probation was issued to Special Sign Hanger Michael DeGiacomo for applying to hang signs that are larger than the size allowed under his license, and for using workers not on his payroll to hang signs.
$5,000 in penalties and a 2-year period of probation was issued to Licensed Master Plumber Keith Schiesser for performing illegal work without a DOB permit.
$2,500 in penalties and a 1-year period of probation was issued to Construction Superintendent Jacob Hirsch for failing to perform the duties required of a Construction Superintendent.
$25,000 in penalties issued to outdoor advertising company Angel Media LLC and $20,000 in penalties issued to property owner High Line Development, for two illegal outdoor advertising signs at 450 West 14th Street, Manhattan.
$10,000 in penalties issued to Outfront Media LLC for displaying an outdoor advertising sign at 195 Lafayette Street, Manhattan without the proper DOB permit.
DOB recently padlocked an illegal commercial and dead vehicle storage business operating at a residential property at 3220 Tiemann Avenue, Bronx, after the owner failed to appear at their scheduled OATH hearing and failed to discontinue the illegal use.

DOB recently padlocked an illegal car wash business that was operating at a residential property at 4012 Bronxwood Avenue, Bronx, after the owner failed to comply with an agreed upon stipulation to legalize this commercial use.

DOB recently padlocked an illegal auto repair and contractor’s yard business that was operating in a residential property at 73 Barker Street, Staten Island, after the owner failed to appear at an their scheduled OATH hearing and failed to discontinue the illegal use.

DOB recently padlocked an illegal contractor’s yard and commercial vehicle storage business operating in a residential property at 91-01 120th Street, Queens, after a recent inspection determined that the property owner had failed to comply with an agreed upon stipulation to discontinue the illegal use.

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