Buildings News - March 2019

Buildings news

March 2019

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New Interactive DOB Building Profiles Map

Earlier this month, the Department published the

DOB Building Profiles map, an interactive tool that provides greater insight into how the agency
regulates NYC's nearly 1.1 million buildings and more-than 45,000 active construction
sites. The map provides a 12-month snapshot of building permits, complaints, inspections, violations, and accident reports for every
property in the city.

The map shows the location of each of the 128,056 buildings in New York
City that have had interactions with the Department in the past 12
months, with information on construction permits issued, complaints
generated, inspections conducted, violations issued, and
construction-related accidents to which DOB responded. This data is
aggregated by building over a rolling 12-month period, providing
real-time insight into recent trends in construction and building code
enforcement.

Using this interactive 12-month map, you can find the location of:

55,473 properties where DOB issued construction permits;

3,254 construction sites that have been issued a DOB stop-work
order;

12,766 buildings where DOB conducted inspections of reported illegal
conversions;

703 reported construction accidents; and

679 buildings where DOB received complaints of construction-related
tenant harassment.

This map is the latest in a series of interactive dashboards, reports,
and data tools released by the Department to give the public access to
information about the city's built environment. These analytics are available on the

Data & Reporting page of DOB's website. See our

press release to read more about the DOB Profiles Map and
the Department's efforts to improve transparency by making our data
accessible to the public.

No-Fee, No-Penalty Safety Inspections for Private Elevators

On March 1st, DOB announced that owners of private homes with
both registered and unregistered elevators can request a DOB inspection
of the device with no penalty for the next 90 days. During this
three-month program, the Department will perform initial inspections and
tests of any registered or unregistered private elevator free of charge.

The program was established in response to an incident in
January, in which a woman became stuck in a private elevator on the
Upper East Side for 72 hours without having any ability to communicate
with the outside world. DOB's investigation determined that the elevator
hoist motor had burned out and failed, causing the elevator to become
stuck between two floors, and that the emergency phone inside of
elevator car was not operable. Unregistered elevators, and ones that
aren�t properly maintained, may pose a serious safety risk to
passengers. Property owners with private elevator devices in their
buildings are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, not only
for their own safety, but also for the safety of their friends and
families.

Building owners who wish to receive a free, no penalty safety
inspection should email the Department's Elevator Unit at PrivateResidenceElevator@buildings.nyc.gov or call the unit at 212-393-2555. This safety inspection does not exempt jurisdictional elevators from code-required category 1 and category 5
cycle inspections.

For unregistered elevators under this program, private residence
owners will need to retain a registered design professional or licensed
elevator inspection agency, and then file an application with DOB to
obtain an NYC device ID and certificate of compliance. The Department
will not issue any penalties or violations to the private residence
owner if the application is filed within this 90-day grace period. If
our inspectors determine that repairs are needed, the Department will
give property owners guidance on the repairs needed, and give them
sufficient time to make the corrective repairs.

Schedule and Credit Details Announced for Build Safe | Live Safe
Conference 2019

As previously announced, the

Build Safe | Live Safe Conference 2019 will take place Friday, May 10th from 10am-4pm. The
conference is a daylong series of seminars, where Department experts
discuss industry trends and highlight safe construction operations. This
year, we are excited to announce that there will be a total of 5.0 LU/HSW
credits provided, which is the largest number of credits we have offered
yet.

The schedule for this year's conference includes nine classes. Each
course qualifies as 1.25 credits:

Construction Safety: Code Requirements & Implementation with a Focus
on Case Studies

Structural Condition Assessment as a Tool for Safe Construction

Tenant Protection in Buildings Occupied During Construction

Upcoming Basement Apartment Pilot Program in East New York

Large Electrical Equipment Design Review, Submittal Requirements and
Material Approvals

Future Changes to the NYC Energy Code

Elevators: Door Monitoring and Other Retroactive Requirements

Fa�ade Failures in High Rise Existing Buildings

Cranes & Derricks: Codes & Regulations

The full schedule with course times is available on the conference

Eventbrite page. A limited number of tickets are still available. Get yours today!

NOTICE:
Administrative Enforcement Unit Closed April 19th

DOB's Administrative
Enforcement Unit (AEU) will be closed to the public on Friday, April
19th for a staff training. AEU will reopen at 8:30am on Monday, April
22nd. Please see the
Service Notice for more information.

Major
Disciplinary Cases

$75,000 in total penalties issued to 235 West 22nd St, LLC, the owner of 235 West
22nd Street, Manhattan, for safety and illegal transient use
violations after inspectors observed a Class A apartment in the
building that was being illegally rented out for short-term stays on
Airbnb to out-of-town guests for $1,000 a day. Additionally, the
building owner was also cited for failure to correct previously
issued summonses.

$4,000 in penalties
issued to Clairidge House LLC, the owner of 201 East 87th Street,
Manhattan, for a zoning violation due to the conditions of the
building�s Privately Owned Public Space (POPS). The owners were found to have installed spikes on
the seating areas of the POPS to prevent its use, and posted a
plaque stating 'private property permission to cross revocable at
will.'

$25,000 in penalties
issued to Registered General Contractor WTS Contracting Corp., for
leaving an occupied home that was under construction, located at
4-19 Beach 138th Street, Queens, open and unprotected. They were
also cited for improper work that exposed a damaged gas line,
failure to provide tenants with proper egress, and failure to
provide adequate shoring for the building. The unsafe conditions
created by the General Contractor led to a vacate order being issued
for the property.

$20,000 in total
penalties issued to Gilberto Espinoza and crane owner Feldman
Lumber-USLMB LLC, for violations related to the improper operation
of a crane on a construction site located at 691 St. Nicholas
Avenue, Manhattan. The crane used was too small for the load it was
lifting, causing the load to fall on the site's sidewalk shed.

Registered General
Contractor Freddy G. Vera was disciplined by the Department for
failure to perform required duties at a construction site at 3113
Westchester Avenue, Bronx, which resulted in unsafe conditions and
injury to a worker. The contractor voluntarily agreed to comply with
a 30-day suspension of his general contractor registration followed
by a three-year term of probation effective February 6, 2019, and
also agreed to pay a $15,000 fine.

DOB publishes monthly bulletins detailing
the agency's efforts to sanction and deter bad actors in the
construction industry. You can find this information posted on the

Enforcement Action Bulletin page of our website.

Additional Disciplinary Actions & Voluntary Surrenders

Industry Code of Conduct for Construction Professionals

Sign up for Weather Advisories

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Service Updates

REQUIREMENT: Property Owners and Other Responsible Parties Must Report
Construction Site Incidents

AEU3321 Form Updated

2014 Construction Code Updates

Update pages are printable
inserts to keep your hard copy Construction Codes up to date.

All

update pages for the 2014 NYC Construction Codes.

Hearings +
Rules

All Department Rules

Buildings
Bulletins

2019-003: Serves as educational material to inform individuals of a building owner's
obligation to make single-occupant toilet rooms available for persons of
any sex.

All Buildings Bulletins

Website
Updates

OATH/ECB Forms

Asbestos Rules and Regulations

Electrical Advisory Board Fees

Licensing

Department Approved Course Providers

License Renewal: Welder

Did You Know?

DOB is currently seeking
candidates for paid internship opportunities. Current college students
and recent college graduates can apply to gain real-world experience in
professions including energy code development, engineering, legal, and
data analytics. Click

here for a list of open positions.

Thomas Fariello, R.A. Acting Commissioner

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