Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City Council, reacting to a spate of recent deaths involving fires in illegally subdivided apartments, announced a program yesterday to crack down on the practice, according to an article in today's edition of The New York Times by Javier C. Hernandez.
Calling illegal conversions a "serious danger to New Yorkers," Mr. Bloomberg said the city would prioritize complaints based on historical risk factors and send teams of workers to the most dangerous apartments within 48 hours, the article said.
"These landlords are creating hazardous conditions that put lives at risk," Mr. Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference. "It has gotten worse and worse."
The article said that the "risk factors identified by the city include whether a building was constructed before 1938, whether it is located in an area with a history of dangerous fires and whether the property is in foreclosure. 'It's clear with these tools we're no longer looking for a needle in a haystack,' said John Feinblatt, the mayor's chief policy adviser, who oversaw the creation of the system."
"Illegally subdivided apartments pose an acute risk because they often lack sufficient emergency exits and are equipped with shoddy gas, electric and plumbing lines. The city estimates that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers live in them," the article said.
"The city tested its new approach last week," the article said, "analyzing 225 complaints made in the past two weeks. From those complaints, the city identified 16 high-risk apartments. The city ordered residents of six apartments to vacate the premises, and it cited four buildings for violations."
"Historically," the article continued, "Department of Buildings inspectors have had difficulty gaining access to apartments, but under the new program, the city will dispatch firefighters as well to help in the effort. In a trial, the city was able to gain access to 93 percent of apartments when firefighters were present; previously, inspectors gained access half the time. Mr. Bloomberg, asked whether it was wise to ask firefighters to do more at a time when the city is considering closing 20 fire companies, defended the effort. 'The real world is we're just going to have to find ways to do more with less,' he said. 'We're not going to walk away from our responsibilities to protect the people of this city and improve the quality of their lives and the length of their lives because of budget constraints.'""
Manhattanit left a comment on the article that said "So the Mayor thinks that it is only landlords that subdivide apartments? What a fantasy! What about all those apartments shared by students, etc? Why not acknowledge that tenants build those walls as well?"
Calling illegal conversions a "serious danger to New Yorkers," Mr. Bloomberg said the city would prioritize complaints based on historical risk factors and send teams of workers to the most dangerous apartments within 48 hours, the article said.
"These landlords are creating hazardous conditions that put lives at risk," Mr. Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference. "It has gotten worse and worse."
The article said that the "risk factors identified by the city include whether a building was constructed before 1938, whether it is located in an area with a history of dangerous fires and whether the property is in foreclosure. 'It's clear with these tools we're no longer looking for a needle in a haystack,' said John Feinblatt, the mayor's chief policy adviser, who oversaw the creation of the system."
"Illegally subdivided apartments pose an acute risk because they often lack sufficient emergency exits and are equipped with shoddy gas, electric and plumbing lines. The city estimates that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers live in them," the article said.
"The city tested its new approach last week," the article said, "analyzing 225 complaints made in the past two weeks. From those complaints, the city identified 16 high-risk apartments. The city ordered residents of six apartments to vacate the premises, and it cited four buildings for violations."
"Historically," the article continued, "Department of Buildings inspectors have had difficulty gaining access to apartments, but under the new program, the city will dispatch firefighters as well to help in the effort. In a trial, the city was able to gain access to 93 percent of apartments when firefighters were present; previously, inspectors gained access half the time. Mr. Bloomberg, asked whether it was wise to ask firefighters to do more at a time when the city is considering closing 20 fire companies, defended the effort. 'The real world is we're just going to have to find ways to do more with less,' he said. 'We're not going to walk away from our responsibilities to protect the people of this city and improve the quality of their lives and the length of their lives because of budget constraints.'""
Manhattanit left a comment on the article that said "So the Mayor thinks that it is only landlords that subdivide apartments? What a fantasy! What about all those apartments shared by students, etc? Why not acknowledge that tenants build those walls as well?"
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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