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From: "Tenant"
Subject: Assembly Hearing on Bldg Code/Zoning Reso
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ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CITIES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CODES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
SUBJECT: The Effectiveness of the Regulation of
Construction and Development in New York City and
the Enforcement of the Building Code and Compliance with the Zoning
Resolution
PURPOSE: The purpose of this hearing is to
explore the powers, duties, obligations, and
accountability of New York City’s regulatory
system for construction, development, and zoning enforcement.
New York City
Thursday, September 7, 2006
10:00 AM
Assembly Hearing Room
250 Broadway, Room 1923
19th Floor
Thursday, September 7, 2006
10:00 AM
Assembly Hearing Room
250 Broadway, Room 1923
19th Floor
effectiveness of New York City’s regulatory
system for assuring construction and building
safety and for preserving the integrity of the
Building Code and the Zoning Resolution.
Low interest rates have created a construction
boom in New York City in the past few years, and
development pressures have never been greater.
Construction accidents and building collapses are
reported regularly, and local communities express
frustration with developers and contractors who
flout building and zoning rules. The practice of
self-certification of building plans by
architects and engineers without a DOB plan
examiner’s approval has led to abuses of the
Building Code and Zoning Resolution that may go
unchallenged. While the New York City Department
of Buildings has been attempting to strengthen
its performance through the new 311 system, its
BIS website, physical layout improvements to its
offices and emphasis on staff integrity,
questions remain about the City’s capacity to
enforce its building and zoning laws.
In 2001, a Task Force appointed by former Mayor
Giuliani recommended major overhaul of the
enforcement system of the New York City
Department of Buildings, the primary City agency
responsible for construction, building, and
zoning enforcement. More recently, the New York
City Construction Industry Partnership and the
New York State Trial Lawyers Institute have
documented the existence of a “scofflaw”
construction industry operating in parallel with
law-abiding construction and development firms.
In addition, the New York City Council has been
holding hearings about the effectiveness of the
Department of Buildings and related enforcement agencies.
The health and safety of the public in New York
City is a matter of State concern.
Notwithstanding some improvements in
the performance of the Department of Buildings,
there remains intense public concern about
construction and zoning-related law enforcement
as development pressures in the City continue to
surge. This public hearing will explore the
powers, duties, obligations, and accountability
of New York City’s regulatory system for
construction, development, and zoning enforcement.
Please see the reverse side for a list of
subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony.
Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to
the Committee at the above hearing should
complete and return the enclosed reply form as
soon as possible. It is important that the reply
form be fully completed and returned so that
persons may be notified in the event of emergency
postponement or cancellation.
Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes'
duration. In preparing the order of witnesses,
the Committee will attempt to accommodate
individual requests to speak at particular times
in view of special circumstances. These requests
should be made on the attached reply form or
communicated to Committee staff as early as
possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses
will be scheduled in the order in which reply forms
are postmarked.
Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be
submitted at the hearing registration desk. Two
copies of the prepared testimony should be sent
to the committees a week in advance of the hearings.
In order to further publicize these hearings,
please inform interested parties and
organizations of the Committee's interest in
hearing testimony from all sources.
In order to meet the needs of those who may have
a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with
its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of
disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities
and services available to all individuals with
disabilities. For individuals with disabilities,
accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable
request, to afford such individuals access and
admission to Assembly facilities and activities.
James Brennan Joseph Lentol Vito Lopez
Member of Assembly Member of Assembly Member of Assembly
Chair Chair Chair
Committee on Cities Committee on Codes Committee on Housing
SELECTED QUESTIONS TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:
1. What is the current backlog of
complaints and violations? How are complaints,
violations and enforcement actions prioritized,
categorized and imposed? How many hazardous
violations of the building code are outstanding and what is their
status?
2. How often and in what circumstances
does New York City enforce the Building Code and
the Zoning Resolution through more aggressive
tools, i.e., criminal court actions, padlocking,
tax liens, and what are the dispositions of such
actions? Is staff at the DOB and related agencies
sufficiently trained to prepare court-worthy
evidence to support such enforcement measures?
3. What reporting systems exist for
construction activities, building safety, and
zoning compliance, and how can they be improved?
What information is required of the NYC DOB and
related agencies in the Mayor’s Management Report
and is that information helpful to the public in
evaluating the performance of these agencies?
4. Is there a central reporting and
investigations system for accidents and injuries
to persons and property related to building,
construction and demolition safety?
5. What external notice, review, and
monitoring systems exist for construction and
development activity, and when are they
triggered? When and under what circumstances are
adjacent property owners, community boards, and
elected officials notified of construction
activity and zoning issues, and when are they
authorized to review, comment upon or approve
such activity? Should review and approval powers
of entities outside DOB be changed or expanded?
6. What is the current system of
protections and remedies for adjacent property
owners and the public regarding construction,
safety, and zoning complaints? When and how are
the NYC DOB and related agencies required to
respond to such complaints? Does current law
adequately protect adjacent properties?
7. What is the current law and practice
regarding the availability of construction plans
to the public? Are there differences in the
availability of plans during different phases of
construction, i.e., applications, permits, plan
amendments, etc.? How can this system be
improved? Does current practice protect the
public interest and the public’s right to appeal?
8. How does the current DOB system ensure
document integrity?
9. Are DOB policy and procedure notices applied consistently?
10. When are DOB objections and audits
available to the public and under what
circumstances? When and within what timeframe
must the DOB respond to public questions and
objections to applications, plans, and
amendments? How often are public objections to
plans filed? How many result in audits? How many result in
revocations?
11. How are meetings between
architects/engineers/expediters/developers and
DOB staff logged and documented? What record of
these meetings is available for public review?
12. How frequently are completed buildings
denied certificates of occupancy? What are the
remedies for Zoning and Building Code
noncompliance upon completion of construction,
e.g., when buildings are overbuilt? How much
time are owners given to correct noncompliance?
13. What is the current status of the New
York City self-certification program by
architects and engineers? Does
self-certification allow excessive noncompliance
with the Building Code and Zoning Resolution?
What is the status of disciplinary reviews for
abuse of self-certification privileges by the New
York City DOB and the New York State Department
of Education? What are DOB’s guidelines and
threshold for distinguishing between jobs that
needed revocation and jobs that were permitted to
continue? When plans fail audit review, does this trigger
disciplinary review?
14. Should self-certification be abolished
and/or restricted? If so, what additional
resources would NYC DOB need to review
construction plans? Should DOB and/or the New
York State Education Department or other
government bodies be given additional licensing
authority over various participants in the
construction industry, including architects,
engineers, expediters, contractors, developers, and others?
15. How frequently are Zoning and Building
Code issues implicated in Attorney General’s
reviews and acceptances of co-op and condo plans?
How frequently are issues involving certificates
of occupancy litigated by the Attorney General’s office?
16. How frequently are DOB decisions brought
to the Board of Standards and Appeals? How often
are DOB decisions overturned by the BSA?
PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM
Persons wishing to present testimony at the
public hearing on are requested to complete this
reply form as soon as possible and mail it to:
Deborah Stevens
Legislative Associate
Assembly Committee on Cities
Room 520- Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
(518) 455-4363
(518) 455-5182 Fax
I plan to attend the following public hearing on
The Effectiveness of New York City’s Regulation
of Construction and Development and Preservation
of the Integrity of the Building Code and Zoning
Resolution to be conducted by the Assembly
Committee on Cities, the Committee on Codes and
the Committee on Housing on September 7, 2006.
I plan to make a public statement at the hearing.
My statement will be limited to 10 minutes, and I
will answer any questions which may arise.
I will provide 10 copies of my prepared statement.
I will address my remarks to the following subjects:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
I do not plan to attend the above hearing.
I would like to be added to the
Committee mailing list for notices and reports.
I would like to be removed from the Committee mailing list.
I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information.
Please specify the type of assistance required:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
NAME:
_________________________________________________________
TITLE:
_________________________________________________________
ORGANIZATION:____________________________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________________________________
TELEPHONE: _______________________________________________
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