Apartment Number Not Specified on Violation Notice

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for violating the building's certificate of occupancy (C of O). The notice stated that two legal apartments had been illegally converted into one apartment on the 12th floor. Landlord argued that the violation notice wasn't specific enough. It didn't specify the apartment number, and there were more than 10 apartments on the 12th floor. Also, there were 20 stories in the building; the notice stated that there were 12. The ALJ ruled for landlord, but for a different reason: The violation notice cited the wrong statute section. DOB appealed, claiming that this wasn't important and that the ALJ had the authority to amend the violation notice to correct the error in the statute number. ECB ruled against DOB. The statute number could be corrected, but landlord still wasn't given proper notice of which apartment was supposedly in violation. When the case was before the ALJ, DOB didn't present any additional proof, such as a floor plan.

City of New York v. The Third Brevoort Co.: ECB App. No. 12557 (9/22/93) [3-page document]