DOB Properly Issued Two Violations

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to maintain a building in a safe condition. The inspector described a decrease in the size of steel window lintels due to rusting, rotting, and pitting. This caused bricks around the windows to have no support. In a second violation notice, the inspector cited cracked and unkeyed facade brick walls and an out-of-plumb parapet wall. Landlord argued that the two violations should have been combined as one. The ALJ agreed and dismissed the second violation. DOB appealed, arguing that the different conditions cited established separate violations of the same Building Code provision concerning failure to maintain a building in a safe condition. ECB ruled for DOB. The first violation was for the defective condition of the exterior brick wall. The second violation was for the window lintels. Steel and brick are different materials, requiring different kinds of maintenance. DOB showed two separate violations. Landlord was fined $800 for the window lintel violation.

Gates Place LLC: ECB App. No. 46492 (3/27/08) [2-pg. doc.]