On Monday, Nov. 30, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) released its October 2020 enforcement bulletin, which provides highlights of the agency’s actions to sanction and deter bad actors in the construction industry through the enforcement of safety laws and codes of conduct for construction professionals. The bulletin includes summaries of DOB-imposed disciplinary actions, including penalties and license suspensions and revocations.

 

The actions below represent a portion of DOB’s overall work to enforce the City’s building codes and safety laws, in addition to the thousands of inspections conducted and violations issued by the agency each month for illegal building and construction conditions.

 

DOB took a number of major enforcement actions in October, including:

 

• 21 violations and $348,750 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal building alterations at four separate locations.
• 29 violations and $305,000 in penalties issued for failure to safeguard construction sites on 28 separate occasions.
• Six violations and $32,250 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal transient use at two separate locations.
• Nine violations and $90,000 in penalties issued to nine different individuals for failure to carry out duties of construction superintendents.

 

Below are individual enforcement highlights in the Bronx for October 2020:

 

• $12,500 in penalties issued to Neighborhood Renewal Housing D., property owners of 1466 Grand Concourse, Bronx, for failure to maintain the building, after a piece of the façade at the 6^th floor fell of the building and landed on the sidewalk below.

• The owners of 1521 Bryant Avenue, Bronx, was cited for illegally using the property as a real estate business office. An Order of Closure was issue for the property in 2010 and the location was padlocked. The property owner recently requested a recession of the Order of Closure, and a subsequent inspection revealed that the illegal use had been discontinued. As a result, DOB lifted the Order of Closure at the property

 

 

As reported by the Norwood News, the City may experience severe weather, including potential wind gusts over 40 mph, starting Monday, Nov. 30. Accordingly, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is reminding all builders, contractors, crane operators, and property owners to secure their construction sites, buildings, and equipment.