The city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings completed a batch of Department of Buildings cases on October 22, finding respondents in violation at two active Manhattan construction sites and at several occupied buildings cited for maintenance conditions, according to OATH/ECB hearing records.
At 16 West 45th Street (block 1260, lot 45), respondent Efin Management Corp. was found in violation on four separate tickets stemming from an August 14 inspection of what DOB's violation details describe as an active construction and excavation site. The charges: a missing project information panel on the site fence ($1,250, ticket 039557954M); a job-site fence "in a state of disrepair" and not fully enclosing the site ($1,000, ticket 039557951R); sidewalk cracking attributed to excavation activity, with a stop-work order on excavation and foundation work cited in the violation text ($2,500, ticket 039557953K); and failure to protect adjoining structures during excavation, with the violation details noting an installed pile, cracks on a neighboring retaining wall and other evidence at an adjacent property ($5,000, ticket 039557952Z). All four carry a compliance status of "Penalty Due" with no amount yet paid, per OATH's dataset.
At 1463 Amsterdam Avenue (block 1970, lot 68), respondent West Harlem Renaissance Housing was found in violation on two tickets from the same August 14 inspection date, both tied to a Weil-McLain oil-fired boiler, model 488. One violation cites exposed wiring, unsealed ceiling and wall openings, an improperly installed barometric damper and a leaking discharge pipe ($1,250, ticket 039200645R); the other is a cease-use order on the boiler itself, citing smoke and fumes and directing that it not be operated until DOB is notified the hazard is corrected ($2,500, ticket 039200646Z). Both show "Penalty Due."
Separately, OATH hearings also closed out violations against 130 East 39 LLC at 128 East 39th Street for elevator maintenance defects, including a malfunctioning door-lock monitor and a dragging compensation chain in the elevator pit (two tickets, $1,250 each); and against 2143 ACP LLC at 161 West 127th Street for missing sprinkler coverage over four commercial dryers and back-pitched dryer venting ($2,500 and $625). All hearings were held by phone and resulted in "IN VIOLATION" findings with penalties outstanding, per OATH's Case Status dataset.
None of these records include a cause finding beyond the inspector's violation narrative, and OATH's dataset does not indicate whether any respondent has appealed.
What to do next
GCs and site safety managers working near 16 West 45th Street or 1463 Amsterdam Avenue should note both sites now carry a documented DOB inspection history on fencing, excavation protection and mechanical hazards -- worth checking DOB's Building Information System under those addresses before bidding adjacent work or scheduling deliveries that cross the sidewalk sheds there. Property managers with older oil-fired boilers should treat the Amsterdam Avenue cease-use order as a reminder that barometric damper and discharge-pipe defects are a recurring Class-1-type citation; a pre-season boiler inspection is cheaper than a $2,500 ticket plus a shutdown.