Brennan Writes "Laundry List" of Building Legislation
With building permits and building abuses both at an all-time high, Assemblyman James Brennan (D – Brooklyn) stepped up to the plate yesterday and introduced a seven-bill package of legislation aimed at bringing the city’s powers and responsibilities in line with the scope of the problem. In the press release at the end of the…
With building permits and building abuses both at an all-time high, Assemblyman James Brennan (D – Brooklyn) stepped up to the plate yesterday and introduced a seven-bill package of legislation aimed at bringing the city’s powers and responsibilities in line with the scope of the problem. In the press release at the end of the day yesterday, Brennan included a lengthy accounting of the problems plaguing the industry:
A 2004 New York City Comptroller’s audit found that 51% of sampled building violations in 2002 were issued for hazardous violations and that there was no systematic Department of Buildings (DOB) process for following up on hazardous violations. OSHA reported 80 deaths from New York City construction accidents between 2002 and 2005. A 2002 review by the NY Trial Lawyers Institute of 2,500 OSHA construction-site inspections found one or more serious safety violations at 2/3 of the sites. A 2003 NYC Comptroller’s audit found errors in 67% of sampled self-certified construction plans. And in 2005, the DOB’s own mandated audits of a fifth of all self-certified plans found 16% of them contained such serious errors that building permits had to be revoked.
A detailed description of the seven bills, taken verbatim from the press release, is on the jump.
Photo by mrsid
The legislative package includes the following seven bills:
• A7745(Brennan)/S5422(Padavan), The Department of Buildings Community Accountability Act, directs DOB to notify community boards and borough presidents of all construction permits and DOB actions in the district; requires DOB to file public reports on all construction accidents, property damage and dangerous buildings conditions resulting from building code violations; prohibits issuance of certificates of occupancy until all adjudicated fines and penalties are paid; and gives community boards the right to request 30 DOB audits annually and receive copies of any requested plans within 5 days.
• A7800(Brennan)/S5223(Padavan), requires timely re-inspection and correction of all hazardous building violations issued by the DOB.
• A7755(Hevesi)/S5407(Padavan), converts into tax liens any unpaid, adjudicated fines levied for hazardous building violations.
• A7746(Brennan)/S4603(Padavan), gives the DOB the power to refuse to accept the filing of any documents by a person who, following a hearing, has been found to have knowingly or negligently submitted false documents to the Department of Buildings, thus expanding the Department’s arsenal for curbing abuse of self-certification privileges. This bill is supported by the office of the Mayor.
• A7744(Brennan)/S5410(Padavan), requires, for the first time, City licensure of general contractors by a Contractors Licensing Board, composed of 13 members appointed by the Mayor. This will allow the City to revoke the licenses of developer-contractors who are willful violators of laws involving safety, workers’ compensation, etc.
• A7748(Brennan)/S5246(Padavan), holds contractors liable for any damage caused by excavation. Currently contractors are not liable for damage to adjacent properties caused by excavation less than 10 feet in depth. This bill eliminates that exemption and in addition requires contractors to carry liability insurance to compensate neighbors for damages caused by excavation. This bill is supported by the office of the Mayor.
• A7747(Brennan)/S5441(Padavan), funds technical assistance grants of $500,000 to a not-for-profit organization in each borough to provide legal, technical and professional assistance in the public interest regarding zoning, planning, and building and construction issues.
Finally!! Unfortunately, I can only wish that there is some sort of recourse for neighbors next to projects started before but still ongoing after the bill’s passage. My neighbors foundation has been seriously compromised and my property also damaged by the building going up between us. There have been a few SWO’s during the process and work was stopped specifically due to lack of proper shoring. But my neighbor has had to incur the expense of a lawyer and an engineer. We have to remove all the wall board in our basement so an engineer can inspect our foundation too.
Have spoken extensively with Jim Brennan’s office in the past several months and have found them to be most receptive and helpful. I applaud their efforts to bring this to fruition. Frankly, it’s all things that should have been in place from the beginning. Developers have been running ripshod over the rights of everyone who has the misfortune of living next to a project. Thanks to Brownstoner for keeping this issue alive here in the blog and to lostinbrooklyn for being so proactive in his nabe. The more attention this receives, the more likely change will be made.
all of this just looks like good common sense.
Good for him. About time too!
’bout time. I assume this came out of last years 2 hearings by Brennan’s Committee on Cities and their interview, interrogation and inquires into DOB practices along with public testimony (pro and con) from members of City Council, AIA, OSHA, Community Boards and community/housing activists looking for safer building practices and more enforcement “bite” from the the DOB.
Only legislation like this (and from City Council) can do this.
I’m sure there are those out there who will say “this will somehow hinder the building and construction trades.
I’d counter that new oversight is definitely needed (just read the papers from the past year on worker related death/injury and damage to properties during adjacent construction) and why is it a hindrance to biz to follow the “rules” and be held accountable for ones actions on a job site, both good and bad.
Time for the bad apples to clean up their act or get booted out of Dodge.