Landlord Fined $47,000 for Adding Illegal SRO Units

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for illegally altering a one- or two-family dwelling by building one apartment and an SRO unit on the first floor, and two SRO units on the second floor. Landlord claimed that she tried to correct the violations, but that tenants were slow to move out. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined her $47,000. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord’s good-faith attempts to cure the violations didn’t excuse them and the per-diem penalties still applied. The arrangements of the first and second floors, and not their actual use, was what constituted the violations. 

Azur: ECB App. No. 1500842 (10/29/15) [1-pg. doc.]