An Elmhurst landlord has been charged with endangering the lives of 46 residents, including 12 children, by renting them illegally converted one-and two-family houses and garages, the district attorney announced. Landlord Segundo Chimbay, 48, has been charged in connection with renting out converted houses and garages in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, charging tenants from $850 [...]
The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) is falling down on the job. “The Buildings Department is just dysfunctional and incapable of improving itself,” said Comptroller John Liu. “Its inability to perform basic tasks … bode poorly not just for the department, but for residents and neighborhoods too.” A recent audit by the comptroller’s office found [...]
Some landlords attempting to maximize profits are illegally converting spaces at a potentially deadly cost. Hazardous homes, transformed from single-family residences into multi-unit dwellings, have residents throughout Queens worried that faulty wiring and unsafe plumbing could cause fires, floods and possibly the loss of human lives. A majority of these residences, predominantly installed in cellars [...]
The Department of Buildings was at the last open meeting of the Richmond Hill Block Association on January 25. Liasons Anthony Iuliano and Byron Munoz were the guest speakers, explaining how illegal conversion complaints are processed through the system. They encouraged residents to follow through by giving complaint numbers to an elected official’s office or [...]
