No Proof of Illegal Basement Apartment

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for illegally altering a two-family building into a three-family building by creating an illegal cellar apartment. At a hearing, landlord denied that there was an apartment in the cellar. He said that the cellar contained only a laundry room. The violation notice also stated a different address, but the inspector testified that he had simply written the wrong address on the notice. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $3,050. Landlord appealed. The ECB ruled for landlord, dismissed the violation, and revoked the fine. Landlord credibly denied that he had added an apartment to the cellar. At the hearing, the inspector admitted that he wrote a different address on the violation notice, stated that he had observed the apartment by looking through the cellar window, but admitted that he could have been looking in a different building. DOB therefore had insufficient proof to support the violation.

Ferazzoli: ECB App. No. 42627 (10/25/07) [2-pg. doc.]