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help! restaurant ventilation system is right above me!

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help! restaurant ventilation system is right above me!

Postby peggy » Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:22 pm

and it's like a little earthquake all day!


is there any regulation for the ventilation/exhaust system?

who has the power to make them improve this? i doubt they will do this themselves if no one forces them because they own the building.

who can i complain to? fire department?
if someone comes in, will they ask the landlord or ask the restaurant to correct this?
who would have more information?

i want to talk to them in person first because i am afraid they will tell the landlord and the landlord will kick me out...

how can we settle this peacefully and in a civilized manner?
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Postby TenantNet » Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:56 am

Complaining is not peaceful and civilized?
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they ignore complaints because they know we have no power

Postby peggy » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:22 am

............. =(

i am afraid if we complain to the gov, they will shut the restaurant down (for health, or for safety), then we will definitely get kicked out...
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Postby TenantNet » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:26 am

If the restaurant has a violation -- building, safety, health-related -- then perhaps it should be put on notice to correct the violation, and if sufficiently serious, shut down until it's corrected.

Why do you think that if the restaurant gets a violation, then you will be evicted?

We're here to help you understand and assert your rights, not to decide under which cloth to hide your head.
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i guess i want them to be inspected oh so coincidentally

Postby peggy » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:32 am

(to them)


instead of only being inspected because of my 311 complaint...
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dd

Postby dealing3000 » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:38 am

Well then Peggy you need to sit at home and wait for them to be "coincidentally" inspected. As this may never come you could be sitting at home waiting for a LONG time. Buck up and call 311 yourself if you want action. If you are unwilling to do so, what advice would we ever give you when you can't help yourself?

What makes you think there is a violation? Having a loud exhaust fan is not a violation as long as the work was done properly.

You need to get your landlord into the apartment to hear for himself.

Was this fan not on when you decided to rent the place?
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Postby TenantNet » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:50 am

Actually a loud fan could be a violation even if other work incidental to installing and running the fan was done properly.

For the NYC Noise Code, go here to start your research:
http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/air_and_noise/index.shtml

Even though it's been updated, the real problem is that the city agencies and police essentially ignore it unless the squeaky wheel is as loud as the noise.
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Postby lofter1 » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:37 pm

I know of a building where a commercial tenant recently installed A/C unit on the roof above residential tenants which; the unit is both loud and causes vibrations. Calls by residential tenants to 311 brought a City inspector to the building; the inspector did noise readings which showed noise above the allowable decible levels (the reading were taken inside the residential units) and then gave the owner a violation (an owner is repsonsible for the building systems and is ultimately responsible for tenant improvements and control of same).

Now the owner is working with the commercial tenant to address both the noise and vibration problems. The tenants continue to push and complain. Often that is the ONLY way to get problems taken care of.

One big difference could be that the building I am talking about has Rent Stabilized units, so the owner cannot do a retaliatory eviction against tenants who complain of violations (such an eviction seems to be what the OP is afraid of).

Bottom line: If you don't file complaints then the issue will go unresolved. You say the noise is terrible. Are you willing to continue to live in the building with the terrible noise? If not then you must either move or complain to get the problem corrected.

Resolution requries action on your part. Try to get neighbors to join together and all file complaints.
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I'm in the same boat as Peggy

Postby art » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:43 pm

I face the same problem as peggy...
A ventilation system for a newly created restaurant runs from the front of the building, through one of the back apts and up the back exterior wall of the building ending at the roofline causing a constant loud noise.
It was suggested that if the restaurant or building were in violation some
action might be taken.
There is in fact a violation with the dept of buildings in the way the vent was installed.
but the language is confusing...


DOB Violation #
ECB Violation #
Violation Type: CN-Construction
OCCUPANCY CONTRARY TO THAT ALLOWED BY THE C OF O OR BLDG DEPT RECORDS NOTED C OF O _____ PERMITS 1 STORE AND 1 APT IN BASEMENT AND 3 SROS AND BLDG MANAGERS OFFICE ON 1ST STY THERE ARE 2 COMMERCIAL STORES RESTAU
Scheduled hearing Date

Even though this violation is active the Restaurant has opened its doors
and is fully operational.

I want to add that before the restaurent was created the space was used as a clothing store with no kitchen.
the work permit said there was no change in egress yet the vent was run
through an apt to the back of the building.
Is that kind of construction considered an egress?
Also how can I voice my complaints to the scheduled hearing mentioned above?

Thank you kindly for any responce to my questions,
art
 
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