mark handler
SAWHORSE
City building inspector charged for illegal apts.
http://www.qchron.com/editions/east...cle_3282a2bf-1cc8-5900-9c34-8306a722d125.html
A New York City Housing Preservation and Development inspector has been charged with endangering the lives of tenants living in two unlawfully converted Queens dwellings he owns following an inspection triggered by a tenant’s complaint to the City’s 311 phone system.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, in a joint statement with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters, said Tuesday that Derrick Allen, 58, of Rosedale is facing charges of second-degree reckless endangerment and two violations of the city’s Administrative Code. He could face up to a year in jail if convicted.
Brown said city officials found violations in basement apartments both in Allen’s residence on 255th Street in Rosedale and a house on 196th Street in St. Albans.
Residents were ordered to vacate the illegal lodgings, which the DA said had violations including but not limited to a lack of adequate exits.
“As a code enforcement inspector himself, the defendant should have known better than to allegedly try and profit through the unlawful conversion of his properties into multi-dwellings,” Brown said.
“Such illegal housing puts a strain on local city services such as parking, transportation, waste disposal and schools,” he added. “But most important, such conversions jeopardize the lives of not only the buildings’ residents but firefighters and other personnel who in responding to an emergency are confronted by a maze of rooms with no way out.
“This City housing inspector should have enforced the law, instead he is charged with breaking it,” Peters said. “The illegal basement rooms uncovered in this investigation included obstructed exits and other unsafe conditions unfit for anyone to reside.”
http://www.qchron.com/editions/east...cle_3282a2bf-1cc8-5900-9c34-8306a722d125.html
A New York City Housing Preservation and Development inspector has been charged with endangering the lives of tenants living in two unlawfully converted Queens dwellings he owns following an inspection triggered by a tenant’s complaint to the City’s 311 phone system.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, in a joint statement with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters, said Tuesday that Derrick Allen, 58, of Rosedale is facing charges of second-degree reckless endangerment and two violations of the city’s Administrative Code. He could face up to a year in jail if convicted.
Brown said city officials found violations in basement apartments both in Allen’s residence on 255th Street in Rosedale and a house on 196th Street in St. Albans.
Residents were ordered to vacate the illegal lodgings, which the DA said had violations including but not limited to a lack of adequate exits.
“As a code enforcement inspector himself, the defendant should have known better than to allegedly try and profit through the unlawful conversion of his properties into multi-dwellings,” Brown said.
“Such illegal housing puts a strain on local city services such as parking, transportation, waste disposal and schools,” he added. “But most important, such conversions jeopardize the lives of not only the buildings’ residents but firefighters and other personnel who in responding to an emergency are confronted by a maze of rooms with no way out.
“This City housing inspector should have enforced the law, instead he is charged with breaking it,” Peters said. “The illegal basement rooms uncovered in this investigation included obstructed exits and other unsafe conditions unfit for anyone to reside.”
