Q&A
Request for update on 1915 Billingsley Terrace
3:45:26
·
8 min
Council Member Sanchez requests an update on the situation at 1915 Billingsley Terrace, where a partial building collapse occurred. She notes that the owners claim to have resolved all open violations, but this is not reflected on the DOB website.
- Council Member Sanchez receives frequent calls from the building owners
- Owners claim to have resolved all open DOB and HPD issues
- There is a discrepancy between the owners' claims and the information on the DOB website
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:45:26
Yeah.
3:45:27
That's that's helpful.
3:45:28
I mean, I with 221 dash 2205 Davidson in 1915 Billingsley and so many buildings.
3:45:36
We we have open violations in the case of Davidson from 1989, which is, you know, what what do what do what do what do members of the like, do with that.
Jimmy Oddo
3:45:46
And including in default judgments on a bunch of violations, like, not even showing up to court.
3:45:51
And that's why your comments with the previous commissioner where I heard you.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:45:56
Walk him up.
3:45:56
No.
3:45:57
I'm kidding.
3:45:57
I'm kidding.
3:45:59
But I I'm very interested in working with the agency to just make sure you have the tools that you need you know, to to make sure these are resolved.
3:46:13
Okay.
3:46:14
A general question, are there are there metrics that the department is using at this time to measure if you're taking action on the most critical buildings.
3:46:22
Of course, 1915 Billings League comes to mind seeing and and garage, are there similar to the risk based inspection system that the fire department uses?
3:46:33
Does DOB use your data in any particular way?
Jimmy Oddo
3:46:36
We we we we do the proactive sweeps on construction sites that we talked about.
3:46:42
But too often, We're doing suites of building like 19 5th the suites of buildings owned by owners like 1915 after the fact.
3:46:53
What you are talking about is precisely what I referenced when I use the phrase predictive analytics.
3:47:00
We need to go out and build a team that taps into all the available data to essentially discern a universe of high risk and and take the steps to mitigate it.
3:47:15
Again, a lot of these these incidents that have received a lot of attention, I would respectfully point to the human error.
3:47:23
That does that doesn't negate the fact that we have an aging housing stock and we have bad actors.
3:47:30
We, as an agency, need to free up resources to not be complaint driven, to have a team that plays on our terms, that uses data analysts, engineers, inspectors, creates a universe of buildings and a universe of bad actors and takes our resources whatever they are.
3:47:55
If they are x, x plus whatever, and target those preemptively and proactively.
3:48:02
We are not there yet.
3:48:04
I would love to work with you to get this agency moving in that direction.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:48:08
Thank thank you commissioner.
3:48:10
A follow-up.
Jimmy Oddo
3:48:11
I'd get say that, please.
Yegal Shamash
3:48:12
And this takes to enforce it.
3:48:14
Right?
3:48:14
So just having the proactive inspections is not enough.
3:48:17
We really need the follow-up enforcement and the real sticks to get owners to comply to those violations.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:48:24
Yeah.
3:48:24
Let me know what you need.
3:48:25
I'll I'll bless it.
Jimmy Oddo
3:48:27
Do.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:48:29
So you you mentioned that you the things are improving with the Department of Finance.
3:48:34
Folks pay off their oath violations.
3:48:36
That information hasn't you know, historically gone to DOB.
3:48:39
That's that's what I just understood you to say, how much of outstanding DOB violations do you think will be accounted for by a sweep of that information from the Department of Finance or from oath.
Guillermo Patino
3:49:01
So just touching on something the commissioner mentioned earlier, which is DOF's conversion of DOB submances to property liens.
3:49:09
So that's worked at the finance has started in recent years.
3:49:13
I believe they're in their 3rd or 4th fiscal year of doing that.
3:49:16
And so far, it's been effective, so they're doing more and more to be more and of it each fiscal year.
3:49:21
So last fiscal year, they converted 1481 DOB issued summonses into property liens, and that was a total of 10.6 $1,000,000, but even them starting that process and initiating that process has resulted in owners paying down their debt.
3:49:36
We're working with the Department of Finance to pursue similar strategies.
3:49:42
As far as our lead authority can currently take us, our lead authority is limited currently, primarily to residential buildings of a certain size and with a certain amount of debt.
3:49:51
So as a commissioner mentioned earlier, that's something that we're looking at to see if there's an expansion there that we can take advantage of in order to to have a stronger enforcement tool and something we're also working with the Department of Finance on.
3:50:03
So well, there is multiple for collections.
3:50:06
We are taking a hard look at our data.
3:50:07
We're trying to see which which other property owners that owe the most amount of money with respect to our summons is that have the most open summons is.
3:50:15
And we're populating that list sharing with the Department of Finance, and now asking to prioritize collection against those owners and competitors.
Jimmy Oddo
3:50:26
Madam Cher, can I say, if if I might say one other thing and I'm I I had to try to word this where I I don't sound like I'm contradicting myself saying, well, when you know, all we could do is hand out summonses?
3:50:38
And then I said to you, we need some legislative help to hand out more summonses, but I think it it speaks to different universes.
3:50:44
Right?
3:50:44
There's some folks who, regardless of how many summonses, are not gonna act.
3:50:48
We need stronger stronger sticks.
3:50:50
But there are folks who do react to summonses, and One of the things I think we would like to have a conversation with you is, again, going back to the certificate of corrections, if it's If we don't get one on something that's immediately hazardous, the idea would be to give us the ability to have a one one time penalty.
3:51:12
Or recurring penalty.
3:51:14
For and and and tailoring it for specifically for certificate of corrections, given out violations for something that's immediately hazardous.
3:51:23
I think that might get some folks' attention.
3:51:27
Again, not the bad bad actors that needs other sticks, but another universe of folks out
Gale A. Brewer
3:51:34
there.
3:51:34
Right.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:51:35
And if the penalties become leanable as as was mentioned, help as well.
3:51:41
Thank you.
3:51:42
So next question, IBO suggests that issuing greater financial LTs against property owners who fail to give access for building inspections could generate upwards of 13,000,000 annually.
3:51:53
This rationale is underscored by the death of the construction worker that we have been talking about from Burrow Park.
3:52:00
How much are fines for failure to provide access?
3:52:03
And how do they stack up against the real cost of doing illegal business.
3:52:10
The question?
3:52:10
Yeah.
3:52:10
Yep.
3:52:11
How much are the fines for failure to provide access.
3:52:15
So how much does DLB find a building?
3:52:17
Right?
3:52:18
And how does that how in your estimation does that stack up against the cost of doing legal business.
Yegal Shamash
3:52:37
So specifically as it relates to permitted construction sites.
3:52:43
If they do not provide us access and we see workers on-site.
3:52:49
Right?
3:52:49
It's not just a close site with nobody there, but if we see people on-site and they do not provide us access It is a full stop work order.
3:52:57
It's an immediate full stop work order.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:53:02
Got it.
3:53:02
And what about at reactive inspection sites.
Yegal Shamash
3:53:08
Say it again?
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:53:09
Unreactive.
3:53:10
So the other part of that where you can't observe the workers?
Yegal Shamash
3:53:15
So if it's just a closed site, we will reinspect that site a minimum of two times to see if it's an active site.
3:53:24
If we we go back 2 more times and we don't see work during that time, we'll consider that a closed site or inactive site.
Paula Segal
3:53:35
Okay.
3:53:36
Okay.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
3:53:36
Thank you.
3:53:39
We're we're nearing the end of my questions.
3:53:40
I hope that makes people excited.
3:53:45
So so moving to the the case of 1915, first, they they the owners there call me Too many times per week explaining that they have they have resolved all open violations, all open DLB issues, all open HPD choose that is not reflected on the website.
3:54:04
Can you share an update just on that particular site?