A Queens homeowner has defaulted on a $10,000 penalty tied to an illegal apartment conversion at 99-20 218th Street in Queens, according to OATH/ECB hearing records.
The case traces to a Department of Buildings inspection on July 9, 2024, when an inspector issued a Notice of Violation — ticket number 039142781Z — alleging the property had been converted from a legal one-family residence into a two-family dwelling at the cellar level. Per DOB records, the agency's own files list the premises as a one-family home with the cellar classified as ordinary space, meaning no legal second unit is on file there.
The charge, filed under New York City Administrative Code section 28-210 for 'residence altered contrary to C of O or other document,' carried an infraction amount of $2,500. At an OATH hearing, the matter escalated to a default, and the total penalty imposed came to $10,000. The respondent is listed in OATH records as Islam Nazrul, with an address matching the violation site in the 11429 zip code.
OATH records show the compliance status as 'Both Due,' meaning the $10,000 penalty and underlying violation remain outstanding, with zero dollars paid to date. The case has been rescheduled, with a new hearing date of October 23, 2026, at 9 a.m.
The block and lot are listed in city records as Block 10765, Lot 52, in Queens' 11429 zip code. No injuries or structural issues are noted in connection with this matter — the case concerns occupancy classification and certificate-of-occupancy compliance only.
Separately, the Department of Buildings logged 100 new complaints citywide over the past two days, spanning categories from elevator and boiler issues to plumbing and illegal-conversion-type complaints across all five boroughs, according to DOB's complaints-received dataset. These are unverified complaints, not confirmed violations, and none has been independently confirmed as connected to the Queens case above.
What to do next
Contractors or owners working on cellar or basement conversions anywhere in the city should treat a certificate of occupancy as the controlling document before any work begins — DOB's own inspection record in this case shows the gap between what's built and what's on file is exactly what triggers a 28-210 charge.
Anyone with an open OATH/ECB matter tied to a conversion violation should check hearing status directly through the OATH e-filing portal before a scheduled date — a default, as in this case, adds the full penalty amount with no credit for partial compliance.
Owners at the 99-20 218th Street address, or anyone tracking the case, can follow docket updates through OATH's public hearing records using ticket number 039142781Z.