Bodega owner fined $6,000 for unpermitted awning. In 2012, Krishna Tiwari installed a 4-foot by 20-foot illuminated awning on the store front of his bodega, Krishna Bazaar, located at 1220 Liberty Avenue in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Tiwari never received the required Department of Buildings permit to install this sign. In July 2018, Buildings issued a Notice of Violation to Tiwari for his unpermitted sign and imposed a fine of $6.000 which Tiwari paid. In response, … <Read More>
CityLaw
Contractor’s claim advances
School construction contractor sought extra compensation for change orders and delay caused by the School Construction Corporation. In July 2013, the Arnell Construction Company won a $42 million contract with the New York City School Construction Authority to construct a three-story school building and renovate the existing structure at Public School 106 in the Bronx. The contract required the work to be completed by April 12, 2016. During the course of the construction, Arnell, upon … <Read More>
City loses indemnification claim
Motorcyclist was injured by an unmarked speed bump; City claimed indemnification from street contractor. Antonio Pedoto was injured when his motorcycle hit an unmarked speedbump on Ampere Avenue, between Middletown Road and Bayshore Avenue in the Bronx. Pedoto sued the City of New York. The City in turn sought indemnification from Denville Line Painting.
Sidewalk cafe permit denied
Owner of West 23rd Street restaurant sought to extend seating outside. In May 2018, Maxver LLC applied to the City Department of Consumer Affairs for consent to open an unenclosed sidewalk café outside of Calle Dao Chelsea, the Cuban-Chinese fusion restaurant that Maxver operates on Manhattan’s West 23rd Street. The application called for four tables, each seating two people. Consumer Affairs forwarded the application to Community Board No. 4, which, after a public hearing, unanimously … <Read More>
Court affirms Pfizer rezoning
Old Pfizer Facility Rezoned for mixed uses. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer operated out of a modest red-brick building located at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Bartlett Street in the Broadway Triangle neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn until Pfizer relocated in 2007. In 2012, Harrison Realty, LLC. purchased Pfizer’s Brooklyn real estate for $12,750,000. Since purchasing the Pfizer Site, the building has been demolished and the site officially designated a ‘brownfield.’ Harrison rented the site out … <Read More>
DEP’s default of contractor upheld
DEP defaulted the contractor upgrading the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant following long delay and performance failures. On March 4, 2013, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection awarded Framan Mechanical, Inc. a $6,555,000 contract to upgrade of the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. The contract involved the replacement of all eight main sewage pumps, including suction piping, seven suction valves, high and low-level seal water skids, and ancillary seal water equipment.