Q&A
Construction site safety and enforcement of violations
3:41:14
·
4 min
Council Member Sanchez questions DOB officials about protocols for ensuring hazardous violations are corrected and the department's enforcement capabilities. Officials explain reinspection processes and challenges with compliance.
- Class 1 violations on permitted sites must be reinspected within 60 days
- DOB is working to address a backlog of outstanding certificates of correction
- Officials describe challenges in achieving compliance from some property owners
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:41:14
So moving moving back to construction site safety and in particular delving into some of what you said about DOB's teeth.
3:41:23
Right?
3:41:23
Your ability to to follow-up on sites or owners that are not following stop work orders that are not listening are not paying violations, etcetera.
3:41:35
So just to to restate it, what is the protocol for ensuring hazardous violations are corrected after a violation has been written.
3:41:43
Is there a legal action?
Jimmy Oddo
3:41:53
They're gonna have to swear you in, you go.
3:42:00
That's where at you.
UNKNOWN
3:42:03
Please raise your right hand.
3:42:05
Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee answer respond honestly to committee member questions?
Yegal Shamash
3:42:11
I do.
UNKNOWN
3:42:11
Thank you.
Yegal Shamash
3:42:14
So in terms of reinspection on class 1 violations, specifically on permitted sites, We're obligated by law to reinspect those sites within 60 days.
3:42:27
And our construction safety team has a very good program to ensure that if the customer hasn't already called us, which most of the time they've already called us, to reinspect the site because of different situations that we go out to that site and inspect that class 1 violation on a permanent site within 60 days.
Jimmy Oddo
3:42:52
Man of Chip, can I so I can
Adolfo Carrión Jr.
3:42:54
So
Jimmy Oddo
3:42:57
related to this question, I believe, is the note is the sort of certificate of correction process?
3:43:04
So you have these so this certificate and don't go too far, you know.
3:43:08
The the certificate of correction is an affirmation saying the underlying condition is done.
3:43:16
Right?
3:43:16
And we have a tremendous number of these that are outstanding.
3:43:23
We are compliance.
3:43:25
We're a compliance agency.
3:43:26
We need to get our own books in order.
3:43:30
So we we we rely on the owner to submit this this affirmation.
3:43:38
And until they do, it is considered an open violation.
3:43:42
So when you kind of look at the numbers, it's it's sort of startling.
3:43:47
You have folk go to oath, pay their summons, and think that the process is done and aren't aware they still have to come to DOB.
3:43:57
And I have to tell you thank you.
3:43:58
Press the Nimb lock commissioner.
3:44:00
Thank you, Jeff Sheer.
3:44:01
We're trying to work with Department of Finance to put in attention point to remind them, hey, you have to go to to DOB.
3:44:10
We are one of our talented new assistant commissioners, Jamelle Isador, under Guillermo Shoppe, we are now engaged begun to engage in a very aggressive program.
3:44:26
We like in this administration to have taglines with the word get get summonses corrected to go out and aggressively, proactively try to resolve these.
3:44:39
And and it entails, and we're gonna be rolling it out in the next couple of months.
3:44:44
Going out to elected officials, going out to community boards, reaching out to the agency, reaching out to those whose certificate of correction was disqualified and reaching out to them to help them get it across the finish line, creating videos, being aggressive on social media.
3:45:02
So that we can take down that universe, discern what is a failure to submit this correction from what is an instance where there is the underlying conditions still open so that we can then take 530 some odd inspectors and and targeted in that fashion.