Scott Schnall
I was late to the last Schnall discussion on the forum so my apologies for the repeat. We are in the same position as several other posters- Schnall was the engineer/expediter on our renovation job and we had finished all of the work, however, he messed up the plumbing and so we were waiting on that final approval. My question is this: What happens if we don’t resubmit plans? What are the repercussions? Would it be the same as renovating without permits and so our taxes won’t be raised? Any benefits to not dealing with this?
sticksandstones
in General Discussion 8 years and 3 months ago
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tiffanyjtitus | 8 years and 3 months ago
Update – DOB has now removed the stop work orders. BIS shows the following complaint status:
04/06/2017 L2 STOP WORK ORDER FULLY RESCINDED 2270 04/06/2017
STOP WORK ORDER ADMINISTRATIVELY RESCINDED AS PER COURT ORDER
03/10/2017 A3 FULL STOP WORK ORDER SERVED 2270 03/09/2017
BORO COMM STOP WORK ORDER ISSUED/POSTED BY 2860
atirah | 8 years and 3 months ago
Some of it sounds minor, some does not.
He would
1. File a job under normal review
2. Get rejected by the DOB for the job not complying with code
3. Withdraw application and refile under Directive 14 (self-cert) with no changes
4. Self-certify the job complies with the code to get a sign-off
The DOB’s objections may have been “minor”; it’s hard to say. But just ignoring their objections rather than addressing them is not the right move. It makes sense, at least to me, that he got his filing privileges revoked for that.
tiffanyjtitus | 8 years and 3 months ago
Schnall was cited for seemingly minor issues, not forging documents as you suggest. For example, he checked a box that says:
“I hereby state that I have exercised a professional standard of care in certifying that the filed application is complete and in accordance with applicable laws, including the rules of the Department of Buildings, as of this date.”
Later DOB researchers unearthed a violation ticket from the 1970s which suggested that the building may have been briefly vacant. The vacancy would deprive the building of a grandfathered status Schnall used in his application. Thus the statement above was deemed to be a false filing. That was about the worst of the allegations. Also, DOB eventually approved the grandfathering.
Now compare that treatment to the architects of the Pierhouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Anyone walking along the promenade can tell that the scenic view of the Brooklyn Bridge was severely compromised. The architects stated that the Pierhouse did not conflict with the protected view zoning rules because the protected viewing point was not on the promenade, but actually far beyond the railing in the air where there is nothing to stand on. The DOB did not find any false statements in this filing.
I don’t think most Brownstoners have the resources to hire fancy lawyers and architecture firms to obtain this type of outcome. Even filing a kitchen update could easily add up $20,000 or more in extra costs compared with working without a permit. Most families and small businesses in Brooklyn can’t afford this, and it’s pretty clear that unlicensed contractors without permits do much of this work. Because of his volume business, Schnall could file these smaller jobs with DOB, ensure licensed contractors were used and proper inspections were done for a very low cost. For 80 years no one had a problem with this.
MDR | 8 years and 3 months ago
Re stopworkorder – The DOB revoked his filing privileges because they found that he deliberately filed false documents. That creates uncertainty that any of his jobs were filed correctly, so it seems entirely reasonable for the DOB to stop work on jobs that could have been approved based on false documents and could now be corrected. Maybe Schnall thought he was just trying to help people out, but his professional obligation to follow the law should come first.
tiffanyjtitus | 8 years and 3 months ago
The latest – Mr. Schnall is challenging the DOB in court, and the judge has issued an order that the stop work orders be removed from approved permitted jobs. The order says open jobs can be signed off with a DOB inspection, and directive 14 jobs can be converted to regular (DOB inspector) sign off. The order says the DOB will not enforce these stop work orders while it is updating it’s system to remove them. The word is it will take about two weeks from March 31st for the DOB website to show the removal. This is what I have heard and I have seen a copy of the court order.
In my opinion as someone affected by one of the 280 stop work orders issued, it’s not clear why the DOB has decided to take such aggressive action against Mr. Schnall and those filing through him. In the past, a permanent filing ban seems to have been reserved for major safety issues, or those with a history of violations. Even Robert Scarano was given a grace period to finish existing jobs, and was allowed to reapply to for filing privileges. Schnall appears to be accused of much less serious proble ms.
Here’s hoping he prevails. Mr. Schnall is a rare architect willing to take on small jobs at an affordable price. For many years(81 according to the court filings) he and his father Robert Schnall have helped homeowners, small businesses, and contractors in Brooklyn file jobs with DOB and comply with construction regulations. After this incident I suspect architects will be even more reluctant to accept small jobs, and owners will try to avoid filing these jobs at all.
eman134 | 8 years and 3 months ago
you really do not want open permits…they are now a nightmare to close out since everything at the DOB shifts in the direction of more difficult with every passing year
sticksandstones | 8 years and 3 months ago
Thanks for the info. I guess its best to close out the permits instead of hoping that I can avoid a tax increase…
daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 3 months ago
For one thing, with open permits you wouldn’t be able to sell very easily. And they’ll likely be harder and harder to close out as time goes by as no one else will want to get involved down the road. Perhaps some of the other expediters have taken on some of these problems to solve. I know there were others here in the same boat.