A federal court dismissed a lawsuit this week that sought to undermine the New York City Department of Buildings’ power to regulate the crane industry, Crain’s reported.

The Steel Institute of New York sued the city agency and argued that the city’s crane laws should be governed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has its own set of rules for crane construction. While the DOB’s laws do not conflict with federal regulations, they do have added safety measures that were a response to the two construction accidents involving cranes in 2008. [more]

David Satnick, a partner at Loeb & Loeb, 316 West 95th Street and 330 West 95th Street

The owners of three Upper West Side single-room-occupancy buildings will pay $600,000 in civil penalties to settle claims they violated housing laws by renting out some of their roughly 600 units to short-term tenants and tourists. The agreement, approved by a New York state judge on Nov. 22, resolves a longstanding legal dispute with the city that spurred legislation last year clarifying that SRO units must be used for permanent residents only.

For almost a century, tourists and other temporary occupants have rented units at the properties — the Montroyal at 315 West 94th Street, the Pennington at 316 West 95th Street and the Continental at 330 West 95th Street, all between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive — and the owners have advertised the accommodations on travel websites, according to court records. [more]

From left: Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney, Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri and the single-occupancy housing style

Antiquated laws for housing types in the city are restricting development of the type of residencies needed most in the city, according to the Citizens Housing and Planning Council. The New York Times reported that last week, the council hosted an exposition where architects presented ideas for new types of housing for lower-income New Yorkers. Developers and city officials were on hand and critiqued the proposals. Many of the designs were based on the concept of single-room-occupancy hotel.

The current problem, according to the new housing advocates, is that even though most homes are designed with families in mind, just 17 percent of city housing units are occupied by parents raising children under the age of 25. [more]

The architects of the Brighton Beach condominium project that collapsed earlier this week killing one man, Bricolage Architecture and Design’s Douglas Pulaski and Henry Radusky, were previously forced by the Department of Buildings to surrender some privileges because of problems with other projects, the New York Daily News reported.

“They have been known by the buildings department for many years to operate on the fringe,” Assemblyman James Brennan told the News yesterday. The agency should have had them in its “line of sight” before the incident.

In 2005, Brennan demanded DOB take a closer look at all projects submitted by Bricolage. [more]

From left, 303 East 51st Street, Ziel Feldman, founder of HFZ Capital
Group, and City Council member Jessica Lappin

For three and a half years, the structure at 303 East 51st Street has remained a stunted
skeleton, halted at 18 stories after the infamous March 2008 crane collapse that killed
seven people and crushed an adjacent building.

But that may change soon.

Ziel Feldman, founder of HFZ Capital Group, which closed on the purchase of the site
early this year, said through a spokesperson that he would have “significant progress to
announce” later this week, and the firm plans to restart construction at the site, on 51st
Street between First and Second avenues, this spring.

The expeditor on the project, Laurence Gillman, an associate at Jerome S. Gillman
Consulting Architect, said that the Department of Buildings had completed its zoning
examination of the plan and was reviewing architectural and other drawings as part of a
building code review. [more]

Hotel Chelsea and renovations inside the buildingHotel Chelsea residents have been complaining about dangerous conditions ever since the Chetrit Group began renovations on the famed building, and photos taken by The Real Deal show conditions are not pristine. However, according to the New York Daily News, Department of Buildings inspectors found just one minor violation in their inspection of the landmark at 222 West 23rd Street — the removal of a partition wall not mentioned in the permit. [more]

From left: 515 East 5th Street in 2005, before the rooftop addition; 515 East 5th Street as it looks now and Benjamin ShaoulState Sen. Daniel Squadron and local City Council member Rosie Mendez joined tenants of an East Village townhouse owned and renovated by an LLC run by Benjamin Shaoul who have taken to the streets in protest of conditions within the building and Department of Buildings’ inaction towards an illegal rooftop addition, the East Village Local reported.

Shaoul purchased the building at 515 East 5th Street, between avenues A and B, for $2.8 million in late 2005 and quickly went to work to renovate the building. He added one and a half stories to the top of the structure, but that was deemed illegal by the Board of Standards and Appeals in November 2008. Residents worry the building is unsafe. [more]

From left: Related’s Bruce Beal speaks at the launch of the new DOB development hub and Mayor Michael Bloomberg and DOB commissioner Robert LiMandri give a demonstration of the new software

Related Companies Executive Vice President Bruce Beal made an appearance this afternoon at a Department of Buildings event announcing a new system for reviewing building plans. Filing an application for a residential tower at 500 West 30th Street, Beal was one of the first to use the new system.

Called the NYC Development Hub, the new platform aims to accelerate the approval process for construction projects by allowing architects and engineers to submit plans and resolve issue digitally. DOB employees will be able to video conference with applicants while simultaneously reviewing their plans online, the department said. Other city departments, such as the Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Planning, will set up their own miniature hubs so they can participate in the process. [more]

The lobby of the Hotel Chelsea as it was (center); the art has now been removed and demolition has begun

The renovation of the Hotel Chelsea has begun in earnest.

In August, a group of investors led by Joseph Chetrit paid $77.8 million for the landmark hotel.

The Hotel Chelsea will be receiving an extensive, but subtle, renovation, according to project architect Gene Kaufman. It will get new retail space, an expanded lobby and possibly another restaurant as part of a major upgrade planned by Chetrit.

As The Real Deal and other publications documented, the new owners of the 12-story famous hotel at 222 West 23rd Street stopped accepting guests, fired most of its staff, and removed residents’ colorful artwork from the hallway and lobby walls. [more]

The city’s Department of Buildings does not have the staff and resources
required to keep the Bronx safe, having collected $164.9 million in
fines and fees in fiscal year 2011, but spent only
$99.6 million, according to the New York Daily News.

Far fewer buildings inspectors are assigned to the borough than is
necessary, leading to Bronx fires linked to illegal subdivisions last year, said Jeremy Warneke, district manager of Community Board 11.

“The dearth of inspectors is shameful,” Warneke said. “The agency has
a great staff, but they can’t keep up with the work.”
The department employs 324 inspectors in total and regularly moves
them around between the five boroughs “according to need,” said agency
spokeswoman Ryan Fitzgibbon. Comments

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