Unexpected Construction in apt building

[biffchaos]

Hi there,

We came home on a Friday night to find all of the doors to all the apartments in our building duct taped over with plastic on them with a letter to each tenant stating that they would be renovating the building stairs for the next 2 months. (this is a walk-up apt, no elevator) The letter includes a pamphlet about the hazards of lead paint but does not specify anything else about the work process, what to expect, etc in regards to potential hazards.

Does anyone know if there are particular requirements in non-regulated apartments for more notice to be given to tenants before construction work to the only means of access to your apartment begins? And are tenants legally allowed more information on the process and renovations as they might pertain to their health and safety?

Of course, delivering the letters on a Friday means no one is reachable until Monday for more information and in our pre-1900 building I wonder what to expect.
Thanks to anyone who has any insight.

[TenantNet]

Are there building permits posted?

What part of town is this in?

What's the reason to put plastic over your doors? How do they expect you to get in/out of your apartments?

How do they expect you to climb the stairs to get to your apartments?

If this is a tenement, why are the units supposedly unregulated? It may not be). Do you have a tenants association (start right away) and are there any tenants who have been there for a long time ... who know the history of the place?

If there are no building permits posted and work occurs on the weekend, call 311 and ask for DOB's "BEST Squad" and also get a policeman to shut it down. They need permits to do any work on weekends even if they have permits to do the job.

They must also have - in many construction jobs - a Tenant Safety plan.

[biffchaos]

There is no permit posted but on the DOB website there was a permit issued in Feb for the work that is set to expire on April 1 - so I'm not sure how that works with the letter we got stating work would start now thru June.

I think the questions you brought up were some I was having - how are we getting up and down the stairs each day and why the plastic and are they planning weekend work which is even more disruptive? As of now they have the plastic only duct taped about 3/4 of the way over the doors so you can reach you door knob to unlock and then crawl under the plastic into your apartment.

We are on the upper west side in a small brownstone of about 10-12 apartments, no tenants association but I can check with some others as well as there are a few tenants who have been here 20+ years.

Thank you for mentioning about the Safety Plan - that is definitely something I was hoping we would have been notified about given that they are obviously concerned about dust/debris of some sort to be covering everyone's doors. I will look into that!

[TenantNet]

I think the questions you brought up were some I was having - how are we getting up and down the stairs each day and why the plastic and are they planning weekend work which is even more disruptive? As of now they have the plastic only duct taped about 3/4 of the way over the doors so you can reach you door knob to unlock and then crawl under the plastic into your apartment.

There must be permits actually posted.

On the plastic, that's obstructing access to your apartment, and if you wanted to pursue it legally, I would say a case could be made for constructive eviction. (don't jump to do that ... just a thought). Even so, I would take the plastic down. After all, you have to be able to enter and egress your apartment.

[Sky]

A clarification of terminology:

What is referred to here as the 'Tenant Safety Plan' is actually called the Tenant Protection Plan (or TPP in Dept. of Building lingo). Up until recently I too was calling it the Tenant Safety Plan.

Sometimes in dealing with DOB it helps if you know the codes and lingo, they take you more seriously. You can call and ask if there is a TPP for the current job.

One other thing: just because there is a 'posted permit' doesn't necessarily mean things are being done correctly/up to code/legally.

Not sure about unregulated apartments, but I think regulated apartments need to have an EPA certified lead abatement firm and also EPA certified evaluation company confirm the success of the lead removal.


Poke around these links they may be of help:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/homeow ... aint.shtml

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/p ... mphlet.pdf

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/p ... nglish.pdf

[TenantNet]

It may be the TPP now, but when I first came across it in a DOB filing about 20 years ago, it was called the TSP.

[Sky]

I've too have seen it referred to by both terms, it can be confusing.

A Deputy Chief in person once listed certain codes and what they meant for me and once I grasped it, he really opened up giving me lots of answers and info. The DOB expereince can be a bit of a labyrinth to wade through.
I've found a judicious use of acronyms and codes with DOB personal can expedite getting answers, perhaps they think you have a clue what you are talking about?

BTW, if folks need to interpret the codes on permits, violations, and complaints the DOB website has downloadable .PDF files on 'Complaint Disposition Codes' and 'Complaint Category Descriptions' these can be helpful in interpreting the docs.

[biffchaos]

Excellent - we'll be talking with our landlord today about things to get his take before calling the DOB. We've located info about the TPP so will be inquiring about that - thanks for all the terminology - it's definitely a lot to wade thru!

One more thing - I have been finding a lot of information stating that the landlord is required to follow all the safety codes for work done in areas containing lead - but I am having trouble locating what exactly the codes and rules are for work sites containing lead so that I could see if they are actually being followed (altho I am going to guess that one guy knocking out walls with a hammer and a hose is not all the codes call for with lead). Any idea on where to find the specifics of those rules/safety codes? If they are following them, then of course I would feel better!

[Sky]

Read through the Lead Abatement docs in the links provided above.

I recall reading about having to wet the area to keep dust from being blown around among many other details about area prep, etc. There's likely allot in those docs.
Also, look at the EPA site, they'll likely have info since they seem to be the certifying agency.