Tenant used property as an illegal short-term rental. On April 12, 2019, the owner purchased a single-family dwelling with a rear building at 13-15 Christopher Street in the West Village in Manhattan. The tenant had been advertising the property on Homeaway.com, a vacation rental website owned by the Expedia Group. At the time of the purchase, the owner claimed not to have knowledge of the illegal transient use. On May 10, 2019, Buildings issued a … <Read More>
Search Results for: Department of Buildings
New York Law School Hosts Open Community Meeting on the Future of Tribeca Following the Pandemic
Panel welcomed small business owners, residents, and other interested parties for a discussion regarding Tribeca and the neighborhood’s ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 4th, New York Law School’s Dean Anthony Crowell published an open letter in the Tribeca Citizen that discussed the economic impact of the pandemic on the Tribeca community and NYLS’s commitment to helping the neighborhood navigate its recovery following Covid-19. Dean Crowell wrote:
DOB Announces Facade & Scaffold Safety Blitz
The sweeps will focus on approximately 1,100 sites performing facade work across New York City. On February 18, 2021, the Department of Buildings (DOB) announced the launch of a seven-week long facade and scaffold safety blitz. The campaign includes educational outreach to construction workers and other industry professionals and inspection sweeps of facade work sites citywide.
Property owner held in civil contempt
Property owner blocked neighbor’s contractors from completing agreed repairs. In 2005, Mauro Palladino, without permits from the Department of Buildings, installed a pool, a fence, and a wall in the backyard of his Staten Island home. Palladino’s construction caused stormwater to flood the neighboring backyard of a home owned by Nicola Mezzacappa. In 2008, Mezzacappa, sued Palladino for the damage to Mezzacappa’s property. The neighbors settled the lawsuit in 2011. As part of the settlement, … <Read More>
Comment on Peyton v. NYC BSA
On December 17, 2020, by a 4-3 decision and over a strong dissent, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Appellate Division in Peyton v. NYC Board of Standards and Appeals, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 07662. The decision is an unseemly show of deference to the Board of Standards and Appeals, a body that is widely viewed as captive to the real estate industry, on a pure question of law as to … <Read More>
DOB Billboard Decision Upheld
Owner’s sought to install on a single pole a 9,000 square foot of billboard space capable of running 54 separate advertisements. In February 2018, Baychester Retail III LLC filed applications with Buildings to install a 9,164 square foot LED billboard made of 27 two-sided panels mounted on one pole on a commercial property located near Co-op City, in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx near the New England Thruway. The large billboard would be capable … <Read More>