New York City Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri and Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn today announced that registered architect Robert Scarano has been barred from filing all building documents, including permit applications and construction plans, with the Department of Buildings following a hearing at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.

Mr. Scarano in recent years became on of the most active residential architects in Brooklyn.

On March 1, Administrative Law Judge Joan R. Salzman found that Mr. Scarano knowingly made false and misleading statements to the Department of Buildings on documents relating to buildings at 145 Snediker Avenue, 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn.

Based on the judge's recommendation, Commissioner LiMandri issued an order yesterday prohibiting Mr. Scarano from submitting any document with the Department of Buildings. Under Chapter 542 of the Laws of 2007 for New York State, the Buildings Commissioner has the authority to prohibit any person from filing applications if they are found to have knowingly or negligently submitted false documents.

"Licensed professionals must understand they have an obligation to follow the law so the safety and quality of life of our neighborhoods are not compromised," said Buildings Commissioner LiMandri. "Mr. Scarano repeatedly submitted false documents in an attempt to circumvent the law and have illegal buildings approved."

"In matters affecting public safety there is no tolerance for shady practices," said DOI Commissioner Gill Hearn. "Professionals who intentionally file misleading documents to deceive the City betray the public trust. DOI and DOB will continue to root out unscrupulous professionals who flout the City's rules intended to protect the public."

At 145 Snediker Avenue, Brooklyn, buildings inspectors determined that a utility pole was located in an unsafe manner within the path of the driveway. As a result, the Department of Buildings refused to issue a final approval for the construction of the driveway until the pole was moved to a safe location. In October 2008, Mr. Scarano submitted photographs and documents to the Department of Buildings indicating that the utility pole had been moved. However, Judge Salzman found that misleading documents were submitted by Mr. Scarano in order to obtain a final construction approval.

Mr. Scarano submitted in 2002 a professionally-certified application to construct a new five-story, four-unit apartment building at 158 Freeman Street, which was located on a L-shaped zoning lot fronting Manhattan Avenue and Freeman Street. On the building plans, Mr. Scarano did not accurately represent a four-story, 10-unit building already existing on the zoning lot.

In 2000, Mr. Scarano had submitted an application for this four-story building, located at 1037 Manhattan Avenue. The two buildings, as designed by Mr. Scarano, were too large to occupy the same zoning lot or two independent zoning lots. Between 2007 and 2008, Mr. Scarano submitted two sets of amended plans for 158 Freeman Street, each time misrepresenting compliance with zoning regulations in order to gain approval of an oversized building.

Following the order to bar Mr. Scarano from filing documents with the Department of Buildings, the Department has notified the New York State Education Department of the ban, and Commissioner LiMandri is recommending that the agency take steps to revoke Mr. Scarano's New York State license.

An article in today's edition of The New York Times by Kareem Fahim said that Mr. Scarano noted that in her ruling the judge said that some of Mr. Scarano's filings were "so deceptive that they call to mind out-and-out fraud."

The article said that a "spokeswoman, Linda Alexander, said in a statement that his company, Scarano Architect PLLC, 'is pursing all avenues available to reverse the erroneous rulings that were issued today.'"