By Jeffrey M. Wice and Piper Benedict
New York State’s redistricting process following the 2020 Census failed to live up to the reforms envisioned by voters who endorsed the 2014 constitutional changes. Instead, the redistricting process proved unworkable, missed constitutional deadlines, and resulted in judicially-imposed districts. The time to fix the state’s redistricting process starts now, before the 2030 redistricting cycle gets underway.
General contractor with riggers license violated multiple Building Code provisions on construction job where worker fell from unpermitted scaffolding. Wayne Bellet contracted to perform brick façade work on a six-story building located at 880 St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan. Bellet commenced the brick façade work after his subcontractor constructed a 50-foot-tall supported scaffold and Bellet. On June 22, 2019, a worker fell off the supported scaffold at the location and died.
Laundry operator installed gas dryers that failed to meet Building code in the laundry room of an apartment house. On February 26, 2019, Hercules Corp. leased a room from 46th Street Leaseholder LLC in a apartment building at 300 East 46th Street, Manhattan. Under the lease, Hercules was to install and operate card-metered laundry equipment to create a running laundry room for tenants.
Two condominiums adjacent to Franklin Place, a mid-block alley in lower Manhattan, asked that Franklin Place be designated as a fire apparatus access road in order to prohibit parking next to condominiums. The Franklin Place Condominium, joined by the 55 White Street Condominium, filed an article 78 petition seeking to compel the New York City Fire Department to declare Franklin Street a fire apparatus access road and to install “No Parking” signs. Franklin Place is … <Read More>
Worker on a Queens jobsite cited for working on plumbing installation without a license. The Department of Buildings performed a safety inspection of a worksite at 210-19 Richland Avenue in Hollis Hills, Queens, on December 1, 2020, and found respondent Khalim Sharipov, along with two other workers, engaged in plumbing work. The workers were on a scaffold with tools including a gas torch, tape measure, and copper fittings and copper piping. Buildings saw Sharipov and … <Read More>
Pedestrian injured in slip and fall on City-owned land under maintenance of the Business Improvement District. The City of New York owns a plaza located near 54-55 Myrtle Avenue in Queens. The plaza is a small park-like area and contains a winding sidewalk lined with trees and other landscape. The City contracted with the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District to maintain the plaza, including the maintenance of its sidewalk.