The city's OATH/ECB tribunal closed out a batch of Department of Buildings hearings on October 9, finding respondents in violation on every case in this set. Per OATH/ECB hearing records, the decisions span four boroughs and range from paperwork violations to a site-safety finding that drew the largest single penalty in the group.
The steepest penalty went to Bolivar Builders LLC, cited $10,000 for a site at 510 Gates Avenue in Brooklyn. Per DOB records, an inspector at the active six-story new-building job found no overhead protection at Exposure 3 for the adjacent property — charged under code section BC as failure to safeguard public and property. The same job drew two more violations resolved the same day: a $2,500 penalty for a sidewalk shed erected without the required six-month inspection documentation, and a $1,250 penalty for failing to keep required Chapter 33 site documents on display.
In the Bronx, Spaxel Builders LLC was found in violation on three tickets tied to a job at 2702 Creston Avenue. Per DOB records, an inspector found a welder conducting hot work alone with no fire guard present, a second hot-work citation for lack of a permit, and a citation for a crane operation that did not conform to approved drawings — the filing says barricades shown on the drawings were not installed and pedestrians were passing close to the crane with no flagman present. Total penalties on the three tickets ran $6,250. A separate Spaxel-cited job, at 1695 Monroe Avenue in the Bronx, drew a $625 penalty the same day for a sidewalk shed installed contrary to approved plans and overloaded with stored materials.
Several other hearings closed with smaller penalties. 161-02 46th Avenue LLC was fined $1,250 for electrical work performed without a permit at 161-02 46th Avenue in Queens. C and D Empire, LLC was fined a combined $3,750 across two tickets for unpermitted electrical and plumbing work at 2797 86th Street in Brooklyn. A respondent listed as Pan Hui was found in violation on six separate tickets tied to 23-80 35th Street in Astoria, Queens, covering illegal occupancy, a missing Class J fire alarm system, lack of a sprinkler system, and insufficient means of egress for transient-use apartments. Christopher St. Assoc Inc was fined $2,500 for loose brick and cracking masonry at a sixth-story chimney stack and roof-level facade at 85 Christopher Street in Manhattan.
None of the respondents had paid their penalties as of the hearing date, per the records, which list each case's compliance status as "Penalty Due."
For contractors and property owners, this batch is a reminder that OATH/ECB resolves on its own calendar, often many months after the underlying inspection — the Bolivar and Spaxel site-safety tickets stem from inspections in June and February of 2025, respectively, more than a year before this month's hearing date. A violation with a balance due shows up in a property's DOB record and can affect future permit applications at that address; anyone evaluating a site with open work should check the Department of Buildings' own records and the OATH/ECB case status database directly before bidding or buying.