Landlord Fined $49,000 for Illegal Alteration of Two-Family Dwelling

DOB issued four violation notices to landlord in connection with work without a permit and illegally altering a two-family dwelling to one for four families. At a hearing, landlord claimed that the only things he added to the building since he bought it in 1996 were a new bathtub and stove to the existing cellar apartment. The ALJ dismissed both violations, finding that the violation notices were cut off at the bottom and thus omitted the inspector’s name and signature. DOB appealed and won. The ALJ incorrectly relied on scanned copies of the violation notices. The originals, filed with ECB, contained the inspector’s name and signature. The ALJ also didn’t state that she intended to dismiss the violations on this basis and therefore gave DOB no chance to produce the filed copies. Landlord provided insufficient proof of pre-existing conditions since he offered only his own testimony. Otherwise, landlord didn’t dispute the conditions and daily penalties were warranted. Landlord was fined $49,000.

Lalla: ECB App. No. 1600607 (7/28/16) [4-pg. doc.]