Temporary Conversion of Two-Family Dwelling After Hurricane Was Improper

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for illegally converting a two-family dwelling into a three-family dwelling by converting the first floor into a Class A apartment. Under the building's Certificate of Occupancy, the second and third floors were each to be occupied as one-family dwellings, while the first floor was to be occupied with a boiler, recreation area, storage, and garage. Landlord argued that he had converted the building temporarily to deal with a family emergency. He said that his elderly parents' Long Island home was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He then moved them into the second floor of the building while a family friend stayed on the first floor. A tenant occupied the third floor. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $1,200.

Landlord appealed and lost. ECB ruled that temporary emergency family circumstances weren't a defense to the illegal use. Landlord admitted that the first floor had a bed, three-piece bathroom, and toaster oven. This made it a Class A apartment. Landlord claimed that the bathroom was already in place when he bought the building, but that wasn't a defense either.

Tacchetti: ECB App. No 1400174 (4/24/14) [3-pg. doc.]