Zoning is under attack in New York City. Not here or there, in this location or that, but the concept itself. This has been the long game of the city’s real estate interests, and after a decade of raids those interests have launched a full assault on several fronts. The historic city should expect no quarter.
Search Results for: Department of Buildings
Comptroller’s DOB Audit Reveals Failures to Combat Illegal Curb Cuts and Driveways
Buildings facilitated the installation of illegal curb cuts and driveways by approving work permit applications that did not meet Zoning Resolution requirements. On July 1, 2021, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit of the Department of Buildings, finding widespread deficiencies in Buildings’ efforts to combat illegal curb cuts and driveways.
UPDATED: Work on apartment tower to continue after appeal
NOTE: This article was written for and previously appeared in an issue of CityLaw earlier this year, and was chosen for publication to CityLand prior to the issuance of a recent appeal decision that has now overturned this case. Please wait for future coverage of this issue.
Developer received permit to build record-setting skyscraper on the West Side of Manhattan. In November 2017, Extell Development Company unveiled plans to build a massive residential tower for … <Read More>
City Planning Holds Public Hearing for Addition of Dialysis Center to Nursing Home in Sheepshead Bay
The application will add square footage in the basement but not change the height of the building. On July 14, 2021, the City Planning Commission heard an application for an upgrade in residential rezoning to allow for the construction of a dialysis center and other changes at the Sheepshead Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 2840 Knapp Street in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
Private elevator safety law upheld
Owner of private elevator failed to perform annual safety inspections. Lisa Neuman is the owner of a single-family home located at 84-40 Avon St., Jamaica Estates, New York. A private elevator has been present in Neuman’s home since the 1990s. Beginning in 2011, Neuman began receiving yearly notices from the Department of Buildings for failing to perform annual elevator safety inspections in violation of §28-304.6.1 of the Administrative Code, which became effective in 2008. Under … <Read More>
Owner fined $60,800 for hotel use
Upper West Side residential building converted to hotel. On May 29, 2014, a Department of Buildings inspector cited the owner of a residential building, located at 258 West 97th Street, Manhattan, with illegally converting the building into a hotel for temporary lodging. The building was originally divided into apartment units for three or more families to live independently from one another. The owner converted the building into temporary one-room and two-room lodging. The Buildings … <Read More>