As increasingly gentrified neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant encounter more developers buying and renovating brownstones, longtime residents in the adjoining brownstones are finding water leaks and cracking walls due to the construction work next door.
Which is why State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Sunset Park) and Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign off on their Adjoining Construction Notification Bill (S4519-A / A5823-B).
The bill would require the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) to provide written notification to adjoining property owners when an application for approval of construction is submitted to the DOB.
While the measure passed both legislative chambers, Cuomo has until this Friday, Aug. 24 to sign the measure or it becomes a “pocket veto” (failure to act) which has the same effect as a veto.
“The passage of this bill is important because far too many homeowners have experienced damage to their homes when adjoining homeowners conducted construction on their property. We have far too many homeowners that have been displaced and businesses shuttered because of damage to their property, this is our opportunity to protect our residents,” said Wright.
The bill was first introduced after a building collapse in the community several years ago in which a lack of safety precautions during a building renovation led to multiple injuries and over a dozen homeless individuals.
The prior notification required by this legislation could have prevented the incident from occurring because tenants would have been able to alert the contractors about the potential threats from the visible vertical cracks to the building, present at the time of the collapse, Wright said.
“This will allow homeowners to protect themselves, in the case of damage, they will have the opportunity to right the wrong and all the tools necessary to protect their rights,” added Wright.
The legislation would also require the DOB to provide proof of insurance and a copy of the permit to owners of adjoining property 30 days before construction, or demolition work begins except in the event that emergency work is authorized.
For brownstone homeowners and property owners of older buildings, a neighboring construction or renovation project can cause substantial and expensive property damage. They are often at a loss on what to do and who to contact to get repairs made. This legislation will empower them with information necessary to pursue damages and get needed repairs done.
Cuomo’s office was contacted late in the day and did not get back to KCP in time for this post. KCP will update this story when the Cuomo Administration responds.
