Board ruled that owner made substantial progress on foundation prior to rezoning. In May 2008, Buildings issued the owner of 219-05 North Conduit Boulevard a permit to construct a three-story, 65-room transient hotel in the Laurelton section of Queens. The proposed building complied with the zoning requirements at the time. On September 4, 2008, the City Council approved a rezoning in Laurelton, 5 CityLand 121 (Sept. 15, 2008), which rezoned the owner’s property from C2-2/R3-2 … <Read More>
Search Results for: Construction Safety
Indicted lab keeps license
Buildings’ suspension of license pending criminal trial overturned by OATH. On October 29, 2008, Testwell Laboratories, a licensed concrete testing laboratory, and V. Reddy Kancharla, a licensed site safety manager, were indicted on charges of enterprise corruption, grand larceny, scheme to defraud, offering a false instrument for filing, and falsifying business records. The next day, the Department of Buildings imposed pre-hearing suspensions on both, claiming that their conduct created imminent jeopardy to the public … <Read More>
Department of Buildings revamps crane regulations
Revised protocols for tower cranes intended to improve safety at work sites. On May 28, 2008, the New York City Department of Buildings announced new procedures for erecting and dismantling tower cranes. The new procedures require an engineer to submit written plans that detail the erection and dismantling procedure for each and every crane he or she intends to use for construction. Upon Buildings’ approval, the engineer must then certify that he or she has … <Read More>
Third challenge to East 91st transfer station rejected
Additional hearing on park status set for August 2007. State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell, IV and Upper East Side residents opposed the City’s plan to reopen the marine transfer station at East 91st Street in Manhattan as part of the Bloomberg administration’s Solid Waste Management Plan. The parties filed an article 78 petition, alleging that the environmental impact statement for the entire waste management plan was insufficient since it failed to adequately assess the construction … <Read More>
BSA overturned on Queens vested rights case
Buildings made initial error in not issuing building permit. In 2003, Hamida Realty sought plan approval from the Department of Buildings for two, three-family homes on two adjacent lots that would share a foundation and a common wall. Buildings approved the plans, but Hamida waited over a year to apply for permits. When it applied, Buildings granted the permit for one building, but held the second permit, erroneously requiring Hamida to submit a site safety … <Read More>
New Building Code adopted
First major revision of the City’s Building Code to take effect July 2008. On June 27, 2007, the City Council voted 47-0-1 to approve the Bloomberg Administration’s proposal to replace the City’s building code with a modified version of the International Building Code. The vote followed two public hearings before the City Council’s Committee on Housing & Buildings and culminated nearly five years of work led by the Department of Buildings. Over 400 volunteers, primarily … <Read More>