THOMPSON AUDIT: BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT UNABLE TO ADDRESS THOUSANDS OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE COMPLAINTS IN
The Department of Buildings' Queens Quality of Life Unit is unable to address thousands of quality-of-life complaints involving illegal home conversions because inspectors are unable to gain access to private properties, according to a new audit by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr.
Of 8,345 properties for which the
"This is simply disgraceful," Thompson said. "Illegal conversions not only reduce the quality of life in a neighborhood by causing overcrowding and placing a strain on essential services, but pose serious safety risks by creating potentially unsafe living conditions and causing noncompliance with Building and Fire codes."
Thompson added, "Considering current limited City resources, the Buildings Department needs to ensure that it is fully using all tools at its disposal. Failure to do so threatens public safety, wastes resources, diminishes the effectiveness of the program, and increases the risk that illegal conversions will remain undetected."
"I want to thank the Comptroller for what has long been a critical problem in
Thompson's audit of the Department of Buildings' (DOB) Queens Unit - available at http://sweb02:8080/bureaus/audit/07-14-09_MG09-087A.shtm
- exposed that:
- The Unit's inspectors were not able to gain access in almost 40 percent of the properties for which it received complaints in Fiscal Year 2008.
- Inspectors were unable to gain access to properties in approximately two-thirds of field inspection attempts conducted during the year.
- The DOB requested access warrants for less than one percent of the properties to which inspectors could not gain access.
- The DOB did not follow up on 657 vacate orders that were issued to ensure that the properties remained vacated until the order was lifted.
The DOB is responsible for the safe and lawful use of more than 975,000 buildings and properties throughout the five boroughs by enforcing the City's Building Code, Electrical Code, Zoning Resolution, and other laws applicable to the construction and alteration of buildings.
In March 1997, the DOB created the Queens Quality of Life Unit to oversee the increasing problem of illegal conversions in that borough. Quality of life complaints refer exclusively to illegal conversions, alterations or modifications of existing buildings to create additional housing units without first obtaining approval from the DOB.
Illegal conversions, for example, include: adding an apartment in the basement, attic, or garage; creating a rooming house (known as a Single Room Occupancy, or SRO) from a one or two family home; and dividing an apartment into individual SRO units.
Reports of illegal conversions are classified as Priority B, non-emergency, complaints. According to DOB procedures, inspections must be conducted within 40 business days after the receipt of a Priority B complaint. According to the Fiscal Year 2008 Mayor's Management Report, complaints regarding illegal conversions of residential space accounted for more than a quarter of the 92,509 Priority B complaints received by the DOB during that fiscal year.
According to DOB procedures, if an inspector cannot gain access to a property on the first inspection attempt, a second attempt is required to follow up. If there is no access to the property on the second attempt, the complaint is closed. The DOB can then request access warrants from the New York State Supreme Court for properties to which access was denied during inspection attempts and where inspectors found substantial visual evidence of an illegal conversion.
If it is determined upon inspection that a property does not comply with applicable laws, the inspector issues a notice of violation, which can result in civil penalties and even a criminal summons. If there is imminent danger to the life and safety of the occupants, a vacate order is issued for the illegal converted area of the property and the occupants are relocated.
Thompson's audit charged that Unit procedures are not effective in ensuring successful inspection attempts. As a result, the Unit was unable to gain access to nearly 40 percent of the properties for which the DOB received complaints of illegal conversions in Fiscal Year 2008. Overall, only one-third of the field inspection attempts conducted during the year resulted in inspectors gaining access.
"Failing to ensure access to properties for which complaints are received increases the risk that hazardous conditions will remain concealed and uncorrected for long periods of time," Thompson said. "Therefore, the Unit needs to find an effective approach to make better use of its resources and establish incentives and disincentives so that property owners allow access to inspectors to conduct inspections."
When inspectors are not able to gain access to a property, they are required to leave a "Notice to Call for Inspection" (LS-4) form requesting that the property owner call the Unit and schedule an appointment for inspection. The LS-4 is the primary method used by the Unit to reach absent property owners.
Thompson's audit found that the Unit attempted to inspect all 8,345 properties for which it received a complaint of an illegal conversion during Fiscal Year 2008. The audit also showed that the Unit attempted to perform inspections within the required time frame in 96 percent of complaints received.
"However, the success of those attempts in determining whether the complaints were valid was poor," Thompson said. "Furthermore, inspectors did not gain access in 67 percent of instances. Without a clear set of incentives, a large number of property owners do not allow access to conduct inspections. This poses significant risk to building residents and the community at large."
Thompson further charged that, in addition to quality of life and safety issues, the DOB's current system results in a waste of resources. According to Unit officials, more than 80 percent of an inspector's time is spent conducting inspections, including travel time.
In order to remedy this waste of City resources, Thompson recommends that the Unit enhance its tracking of the LS-4 forms, such as sending them via certified mail. Thompson further recommended that the Unit work with DOB legal staff to obtain legal authority to impose incremental fines on property owners that don't respond to the forms.
"If necessary, the DOB should consult with the City's Law Department and seek a change in legislation to allow it to impose fines on unresponsive property owners," Thompson said. "Having the ability to enforce such penalties would be an incentive for property owners to allow access more readily, thereby discouraging illegal conversions."
Thompson's audit uncovered that, during FY 2008, the DOB requested access warrants for just 0.5% of the properties to which inspectors could not gain access. According to the DOB, obtaining the access warrant is a "tedious" effort that involves requirements as specific visual evidence and assurance that several unsuccessful inspection visits were conducted during different times of day and the preparation of an affidavit.
"The DOB's limited use of access warrants for inaccessible properties diminishes the effectiveness of the program and increases the risk that hazardous conditions will remain uncorrected," Thompson said. "Considering the potential risk to the public, the DOB must make a greater effort to obtain access warrants."
Thompson noted that the Unit does not monitor vacated properties to ensure that they remain vacated until violating conditions are corrected and vacate orders are lifted. The Unit issued 657 vacate orders during Fiscal Year 2008. However, Thompson's audit found no evidence showing that any of these properties were periodically inspected to ensure that the premises were no illegally occupied.
Thompson said the Unit generally responded to quality of life complaints in a timely manner, closed complaints for adequate reasons, attempted to perform second inspections when required, and followed standard procedures when rescinding vacate orders.
"However, these positive aspects were mitigated by the fact that the inspection attempts were not successful and by the other deficiencies cited in this audit," Thompson said.
As a result of the audit, Thompson made 14 recommendations to the DOB and the Unit, including that they should:
- Work with DOB legal staff to obtain authority to impose incremental fines on property owners who deny access and/or do not respond to the LS-4 forms.
- Implement periodic inspection attempts on weekends and/or off-hours for properties that show clear evidence of an illegal conversion (i.e. more than one mailbox, door bell, or water or electric meter for a one-family home) and to which access has been refused various times.
- Make a greater attempt to pursue access warrants for properties to which inspectors are unable to gain access.
- Ensure there is a clear understanding of, and adherence to, department procedures regarding the performance of inspections conducted on various properties.
- Ensure that the
In its written response, DOB generally agreed with 12 of the 14 audit recommendations.