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October 19, 2008
DOB - selectively enfocing building regulations
I don't know if anyone else has this problem...but in north brooklyn there is a lot of development, afterhours construction without permits, balcony extensions, buildings modified after the BSA approved drawings with out DOP permits. The community board is helpful to a certain degree but they can't get the DOB to enforcing the building codes, issuing stop work orders, issuing citations. - prevent the illegal work from taking place. There is a cavalier attitude about developments taking place in the hasidic areas of brooklyn. This system is bust--the idea is if you can't get what you want during the BSA planning stage...you can make you modifications that were rejected (illegally and afterhours)...balcony extensions once you have your C of O, because the DOB can't and won't enforce it. All they will do is collect penalties if give any. This is a win win situation for the city and the devleopers. The developers get their balcony extensions...and they are easily work a few thousand (which the city can collect in penalities...which they rarely do). Anyone know of any advocacy groups that work with citizens about DOB not enforcing building codes. It seems that when and if a problem is taken seriously...the common outcome is that developer gets to keep their modified buildings...balcony extensions, etc, and the DOB collects the penaltie and revenues. Nothing is determined with how this modifications have altered the streetscape of the community and substantially diminished the neighborhood. .Nothing is given back to the community that has had to deal with the afterhours illegal construction.
This system doesn't work. If the contractors were also accessed penalities if they are caught doing work without permits and afterhours...perhaps we would have some type of slow down in this illegal construction?
Comments
BrooklynDave that's as good a summary of the problem as any I've seen. And I second what you're saying.
BUT -- another aspect of the problem is that the DoB does try to counter this with tougher enforcement across the board. Because of monkeybusiness mentioned above, the DoB make tougher enforcement rules, tougher inspection rules, more paperwork to sign and notarize, etc etc. which the above builders are going to try to dodge anyway.
Who suffers? the average person just trying to do right, as this board is full of complaints about how ridiculous some of the DoB procedures and rules are. Those burdens are there because of people trying to get away with crap, not because of the 99.5% of the people out there trying to go about it honestly.
Posted by: Smokychimp at October 19, 2008 3:00 PM
But are there any balcony extensions? It wasn't clear from your post.
But seriously, it really is the wild west out there. Perhaps not surprising when we have a Mayor who believes rules are for everyone but himself.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 20, 2008 10:14 AM
Meanwhile... I get a stop work order for adding high-hats in my kitchen! You gotta love nyc
Posted by: katiem633 at October 20, 2008 6:23 PM
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