Enacts the New York city department of buildings community accountability act

Section 2 - Names this the NYC Department of Buildings Community Accountability Act.

Section 3 - Amends section 28-103.18.1 of the NYC Administrative Code to require that any information in the complaint book that is kept by DOB and is available to the public be posted on the department's website.

Section 4 - Adds a new section 28-103.18.2 requiring the department of Buildings to-maintain a record available for public inspection at their office as well as on the department's website containing a list of all construction and building accidents resulting in injury or death, and all property damage due to damage arising out of violations of the building code. All such accidents shall be investigated and a written report of the findings must also be posted on the website.

Section 5 - Adds a new section 28-201.5 to require monthly reports to community boards and borough presidents on the department's actions within their jurisdiction. All enforcement actions at both the Environmental Control Board and the department of Buildings must be included, and must be presented clearly and completely to allow for accurate tracking of the disposition of each action.

Section 6 - Adds a new subdivision i to section 28-207.6 (dangerous buildings) to require that whenever the department issues an order regarding a dangerous building that an investigation be made as to the circumstances, and a report be written and posted on the department's website describing these conditions.

Section 7 - amends § 28-118.1 to prohibit the issuance of a certificate of occupancy unless all fines, penalties and/or judgments are satisfied with respect to the new building.

Section 8 - Adds a new § 28-104.10 to require notification by department of Buildings of the respective community board and borough president's offices whenever a permit for construction is issued. If requested, the full docket of plans, plus any updates or changes as they occur, must be provided to the community board within 5 business days. A community board may request department of buildings to do an audit-review of up to 30 plans per year. If requested, the department of buildings must provide a preliminary report within 30 days and a final report within 3O days on whether the plan complies with the building code and zoning resolution.

Section 9 amends section 28-105.1 to require DOB to publish on the website all permits granted for construction, demolition or excavation work by community board. The department shall make available a copy of the permit and other documents within the docket upon request, either electronically or within 5 business days.

Section 10 adds a new §28-110.3 to require a site safety coordinator be designated and present at a construction site of a new building greater than 5 stories.

Justification

The Cities Committee has held 2 hearings over the past year as well as gathering much information from audits and reports about construction in New York City. The following are some of the facts we have uncovered which call out for reform:

Construction Safety

The Federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration reported 80 deaths in New York City construction accidents between 2002 and 2005; the New York Committee on occupational Health and Safety reports that construction is the most dangerous occupation, with death rates four times the average for other workers.

The Construction Industry Partnership of New York City, a labor-management alliance, estimates the cost of construction accidents in New York City at $858 million in 2002.

A review of 2,500 OSHA construction site safety inspections in New York City in 2003, released by the New York Trial Lawyers Institute in 2005, determined that two thirds of inspections found at least one violation of a safety standard. According to the Institute, OSHA classified virtually all the violations as "serious".

Enforcement

The NYC DOB issued 49,000 ECB and 46,000 DOB violations in FY '06, and in FY '05 issued 626 vacate orders.

A 2003 NYC Comptroller's audit showed 67% of sampled construction plans that were submitted to the Buildings Department through self-certification contained errors.

A 2004 New York City comptroller's audit found that 51% of sampled ECB building violations for 2002 were for hazardous violations and that no evidence of a systematic DOB process existed for following up on hazardous violations.

The DOB reported it re-inspected 11,548 hazardous violations in FY '05 and issued second violations in 17% of the re-inspections.

No system-wide public summary of violation outcomes exists that correlates the percentage of outstanding violations to how many are corrected, nor did DOB report on enforcement outcomes at the September 7th Assembly hearing despite questions to that effect in the hearing notice.

A 2006 New York State Comptroller's audit determined that NYC DOB tracking of enforcement of stop work orders and violations was inadequate, in that DOB did not have a database that provided correlation between stop work orders, violations, and enforcement outcomes. DOB responded to the audit in an April 2006 letter stating it was attempting to develop such a system.

DOB announced the beginning of adoption of three new rules at the September 7th Assembly hearing: 24-hour notice of demolition and excavation commencements, and a rule to require registered construction superintendents at all new building and alteration construction sites.

The changes made in this bill will require the Department of Buildings to much more closely monitor construction sites around the City which will better protect the residents as well as workers at the worksites. While many people have called in complaints when they see illegal activities, they feel like their complaints are being ignored. This bill will require the department to investigate and follow-up any illegal activities they find. By requiring the tracking of complaints and citations, stop work orders, and other violations on the department's website, the average citizen can see that their complaint is being investigated and acted upon.

Effective date

July 1, 2010