Yesterday afternoon, I reported on a building evacuation along Second Ave. near the Second Ave. Subway work zone. Due to a leaning structure, residents and businesses were ordered out of their homes and shops late Monday evening. Today, the Post follows up with the displaced few, and they are clearly not happy. They’re annoyed at the city for not giving them more warning; they’re annoyed at the MTA because, well, that’s all the rage.
There’s a catch though. The city and the MTA are blaming the building owners. The MTA had sent a warning about the building to the DOB in 2006 prior to the start of work on the city’s latest subway line, and the DOB has responded in turn. “We issued an order to do repairs, and it appears that was not done,” DOB spokesman Tony Sclafani said to the Post reporters. While it sounds as though a negligent landlord may be to blame, the PR storm is brewing. It’s reassuring to see city and MTA officials heading this one off before it can explode.
6 comments
I’m surprised there’s no requirement that DOB notices be disclosed to current and prospective tenants (or if it is, that it’s not practiced/enforced). According to the Post article, one guy was just moving in the apartment when he was told to move out.
It would be a pre-emptive measure against the bad and misdirected response that we are now seeing. It would shift the blame, in the public eye, to the building owners, and would provide incentive to them to correct these conditions.
That’s a good point, Scott, and it gets at another issue: The rental market in New York City has no oversight. It’s really buyer beware in a very bad way.
NYDOB is currently a paper tiger. Violations don’t get issued, and when they do, they don’t get enforced. It’s shameful.
having just dealt with two separate projects that had numerous violations for decades i would agree, except that in the last year or two the DOB has been getting much stricter and tougher. both projects were finally called to task and had to rectify the situations.
this reminds me of how a landlord can default on their mortgage and not have to inform their tenants. hell the banks don’t even have to until they evict the renters.
The Consumer Reports blog “The Consumerist” ran a story earlier this week about how apartment hunters can actually research open violations of any building.
http://consumerist.com/5303792.....ng-a-lease
What I find sort of amazing is that the sidewalks around the building are still open for pedestrian traffic.
If the building is in “danger of collapse,” as the DOB said in their Vacate Order of 6/29, why should people continue to be permitted to walk on the sidewalks around the building?
Yes, they did erect sidewalk sheds on Monday evening — but they won’t help, if the building starts to come down.
Seems to me like the process for dealing with buildings like this is seriously flawed.
Ben
The Launch Box