Landlord Didn't Post Warning Signs

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for using rigging equipment without proper warning signs. Landlord claimed that the “danger” signs were inside the building at the time of the inspection because no work was being done at that time. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined it $500. Landlord appealed and lost. Building Code Section 26-181 states that “every licensed rigger shall, while rigging operations are in progress, have placed conspicuously at the job two metal plates or wooden signs . . . displaying the word ‘danger’.” On the inspection date, a scaffold was erected and fully set up for operational use. The fact that no workers were present didn’t mean that rigging operations weren’t in progress. As long as the scaffold and rigging were set up and suspended off the side of the building, they posed a safety hazard to people on the street and the sign was needed.

Time Equities, Inc.: ECB App. No. 0900010 (5/7/09) [2-pg. doc.]