Black Smoke from Boiler

DEP issued a violation notice to landlord for allowing black smoke to come out of the boiler. Landlord claimed that this happened just briefly during boiler repairs. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined it $560. Landlord appealed. The inspector saw the black smoke rising from the building chimney for one minute. He went to the building basement. The super told him a boiler mechanic had been there and had gone to get a part. ECB ruled against landlord. The inspector didn't see any tools or signs of repair activity. And the letter submitted from the boiler repair company didn't state what time its worker was at the building. Landlord didn't prove that the smoke resulted from repair work being done at the time of the violation.

City of New York v. Algin Mgmt. Co.: ECB App. No. 35742 (6/24/03) [2-pg. doc.]