City approved homeless shelter for single men in former single-room-occupancy building on West 58^th Street. As part of its “Turning the Tide on Homelessness” initiative, the City planned to operate a homeless shelter in a building at 158 West 58th Street, located on Manhattan’s “Billionaires’ Row.”  The nine-story building was constructed in 1910. The building initially operated as single-room occupancy housing and later as the Park Savoy Hotel. The building’s new owner, New Hampton, … <Read More>

Ice fell from tall crane following ice storm. On December 17, 2019, a citizen complained that ice was falling from Central Park Tower, a 98-story building at 217 West 57^th Street in Midtown, Manhattan.  Upon arrival, the Department of Buildings officer witnessed ice formations on crane and hoisting equipment operated by Lend Lease Construction. With the assistance of the New York Police Department, the Buildings officer closed the streets around the crane and hoist … <Read More>

***THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY RAN FOUR YEARS AGO IN CITYLAW*** The SAFE Act, the acronym for the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act – New York State’s January, 2013 omnibus gun control law – provides an excellent opportunity to assess the potential impact of maximally politically feasible gun control, an exercise all the more relevant in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.  The SAFE Act did not have to be negotiated or compromised.  … <Read More>

Trucking company fenced in and used City land that had been mapped as a City street. On July 27, 1967, the City condemned a parcel of land owned by the Filomio family and located at 3870 Boston Road in the Bronx. The City condemned the parcel, referred to as Damage Parcel 43, in order to complete a road expansion project. The family did not object to the taking and was compensated by the City. … <Read More>

Owner installed boiler to support cleaning services without a plumbing permit. In March 2019, the New York City Department of Buildings approved Wassoff Plumbing & Utility Co.’s application to replace a boiler that supported dry cleaning services in a building located at 280 Park Avenue in Manhattan.  After the contractor performed the work, a Buildings inspector issued the contractor a summons for replacing the boiler without a plumbing permit. The inspector alleged that the new … <Read More>

A rigging accident at a construction site killed a pedestrian. On March 10, 2017, a pedestrian was struck and killed by falling debris that became pried loose during rigging operations at a construction site located at 364 Meredith Avenue in Staten Island. Joseph Volpe, the Master Rigger on the job, delayed notifying the Department of Buildings about the incident despite being required to do so.  Following the accident, Buildings revoked Volpe’s Master Rigger’s licenses to … <Read More>