No Proof Cellar Apartment Was Illegal

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for having an illegal cellar apartment in a two-family house, in violation of the building's Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). Landlord claimed that there was no illegal occupancy. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $800, based on the inspector's finding of a bedroom and kitchen in the cellar occupied by a friend of landlord's family. Landlord appealed and won. DOB claimed that landlord violated Building Code Section 27-217. But DOB didn't prove that there was a change in occupancy that was inconsistent with the last issued C of O or any other regulation. There was no C of O for the building, and DOB produced no other records showing that legal occupancy of the building was limited to storage and a boiler. Landlord also pointed out that the house was built in 1939 with the cellar partition and kitchen, and that it remained legal because it existed when the 1968 Building Code became effective. The fine was revoked.

64-35 Fitchett St.: ECB App. No. 47917 (5/7/09) [4-pg. doc.]