not have a detailed design, but it had the map laid out for the site, and david baker was there. we saw an excellent presentation. we are very interested here and we have known about this for years. this got held up, not only by the evolution of the eastern neighborhoods, but the last business cycle. this is a terrific opportunity, and we look forward to following this. this will be significant because this has been recognized as the poster child of land dedication, with a fabulous opportunity for subsidized and affordable housing on this, carving off a large chunk of the site, with the mayor's office and housing. we would love to see the density blown out and we would love to have a lot of housing in this

location. there was a lot of enthusiasm and we want to follow this. >> and is there additional public comment? public comment is closed. >> we have written comments, but as something brief right now, i was shown, and very early, drawings of a project on the site, by bill and mary murphy. this could have been 10 years ago. this has of all to ever since then, to the eastern neighborhoods projects and the process and through the economy. as well as what else has been happening in the immediate neighborhood, including one of david baker's projects. that is through the area,

actually. the public has known about this for a very long time. the neighborhood association has known about this for a very long time. i actually look forward to seeing the more current iterations and details as they come forward. >> commissioner? >> this is much like a project we had earlier, and this was probably 2003 or 2004, and these held up during the eastern neighborhood situation. and so, this is a pleasant surprise that we finally see them coming forward, and i see some of the rendering sirrah, and from what i see these look very good. this is not what we're here for.

we will have comments on the environmental draft and the impact report, and will be able to send in the comments, and we will take responses and see the project after this is completed. commissioner moore: i look at this as a program e.i.r. with the particular time that this stance, and the architects with the original sketches are not even in business anymore. be that as it may, i would very much like to see this with some of the ideas that came in with the eastern neighborhood. this is tempered by the strong

issues that underlie building in this neighborhood. quite a few things have changed. this falls within the policy decisions that we have made an i am concerned, relative to the deal, that this raises my concerns because we have a number of powerful systems, in this area. these need to be challenged, and they work with this commission very well, anyway. i would like to see the quality of the aspects to be more in line of what can be done, because there is as intense to

create projects that challenge what they ask for us to do. >> i think we do have to pay careful attention to the final eastern neighborhoods decisions, because there were details, and may involve this and the allowances as part of the eastern neighborhood. this is not an exception. this is in line, even when the supervisors were there. >> this is part of the dialogue, -- >> that is what they had in the square. commissioner sugaya: as we are looking into the parking, there is the environmental impact. we will have to take this up at

the time it comes through with the project. >> and is there any sign of an extension for the comments? >> my understanding is that this was posted. excuse me. my understanding is that this was posted and some of the signs were removed at some time in the process. sequa allows the choice of three different kinds of posting. this was legally posted and notified, based on everything that we know, -- >> this is correct. the requirement is actually one of the falling, with publications of an ad in the newspaper, on and around the site, with the occupants and the

continuous properties. my understanding is that these were posted, but posting at the acquisition hall was removed, and when we were made aware of this i spoke to sean murphy. this was remedied within three or four days. i have also discussed this with the city attorney. we have complied. i guess that would extend this to the 15th. >> commissioner moore: if this is what they are describing, i

would not see any reason to extend this period we are all leaving on the 11th, and any staff members after us, -- >> i do not understand. >> commissioners, if that is all, we can move to public comment. members of the public -- this is within the subject matter and the jurisdiction of the commission. and i have no speaker cards. >> i went through the files of next week's hearing, and i was

not certain about the rules. i want to read the current rules. this is due to the commission two weeks in advance of the hearing. i keep bringing this up. we have 120 unit projects, and this is not a complicated case because this is what you should have considered on the triangle. if you look at these rules, you are allowed one week. on a d.r. and a c.u. this is not a c.u. this is a major project if you have one here. like the project today, the others that have been cont

roversial. the staff rdisregards this. everything is two weeks in the rules. and i ask the planning director to start enforcing the rules. thank you. >> and is there any additional public comment? general public, and is closed and the meeting is adjourned.

>> good morning. today is july 20, 2011. this is the regular meeting of the building inspection committee. the first item on the agenda is roll-call. [roll call] we have a quorum. the next item on the agenda is

president's announcement. >> good morning. for those in the chamber, welcome to the monthly meeting of the building commission. i would also like to mention some of what dbi has accomplished in the past few months, especially the newly established boys scheduling system, where customers can call the number and schedule those inspections. both dbi and staff, and volunteers, handed out brochures and answered questions during the chinese februarynew n february, and during cinco de mayo.

this new system will help facilitate a lot of questions and provide a higher level of service to the scity. also, the carbon monoxide detector give away. that was attended by the fire marshal and by our director, vivian day. coming up in august, the lien property hearing, where property owners have not paid overdue fees and penalties for those issued notices of violation, voted in place on this list. so property owners are to attend these for their best interest.

the code enforcement team is headed up by john. also, there are some retirement from within the department that i want to mention. have not only their names, but to give them strong appreciation for the years of service to the department, they're working knowledge with staff, pierce, and colleagues. i wish them well on their new found time away from work, and i hope they spend it with their family -- their choice of time to really spend it. the first is carol roseman, electrical inspector. another electrical inspector

commentary mcdermott, 40 years at the department. oscar, 25 years of service. and i am sad to say ann aherne, our secretary, after 35 years, will be retiring. sonya harris, who had been in her stead at this time, will cover those duties. again, welcome to the bic meeting. that is it. >> item 3 is public comment. the bic will take public comment

on matters within the commission's jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda. >> good morning. my name is sandy burnback. i live at 570 o'farrell. as i explained last time, we have had some problems. nov's are issued and then there is no follow-up. to emphasize my point, an nov was issued on 5/24 regarding the water heater. on june 16, a second issue wanos issued, along with a certified letter to the landlord stating,

and i quote, you are directed to fix the unsanitary conditions. as of the close of business yesterday, nothing had been done. the last thing mentioned on the complaint database was 6/27, where the landlord asked the inspector for an additional two weeks. this is now four weeks later, and nothing has been done. it i will ask ms. day, since it is on her letter had, what this means? >> staff can address to later,

but they are not allowed to respond to your public comment. >> we are over two months, and nothing has been done. the last thing that was done was four weeks ago, where they aske for two weeks. now i would like to make some comments about what mr. sweeney said last week about emergency repairs. i went eight days without heat, five days without hot water. mr. sweeney indicated that it would be necessary, in order to make the repairs, that a replacement of the hot water and furnace would be necessary. that is not the case. when they finally bought a repair man in the, it took less than two hours to repair the hot water and furnace.

i know mr. sweeney talked about the burden that it would place on the personnel staff of dbi in recouping the money, but we are not talking about that $60,000. commissioner murphy: thank you. >> i would just like to ask the question, the priorities, is it with the burden of staff, recouping the money, or does it have to do with the health and welfare of citizens? thank you. >> is there any further public comment? seeing none. item 4. update on process for repairing properties with life safety issues.

>> good morning, a commission. -- good morning, commission. i will be addressing life safety and then the chief inspector has a presentation. to repair a property with -- if it is an extreme life safety hazard -- we would have an emergency order. only then could we actually go in there and carry out repairs. we did something similar three weeks ago had a fire at 1400 mission street. two buildings caught fire. the building owner was not there. i called dpw and they boarded up

the property. it had been some time before we have had to do that, but occasionally, we will get dpw. as far as i know, we have never contracted out to a private company to do that work for us to get more proactive. that is what it would take. we would need contracts, for instance, -- commissioner murphy: how many units are in this building? >> 50. commissioner murphy: any complaints from the other tenants? >> not that i'm aware of. >to do the repairs that he was asking for, we would have to do a couple of bids to get our

prices. i looked at a plumbing inspector who specializes in boilers, and when he gave me the notice of inspection in may, he told the property owner that it we would never -- not be accepting a certification from a contractor that the boiler made code. he pointed out some code discrepancies, asbestos, and told him to update it. that is what is taking time. they have to update this boiler and a half to remove the asbestos. the boiler has been working. there has not been any complaints about a lack of heat or hot water. right now, it is not an emergency, but they are going to have a director's hearing, possible action to the city attorney in may -- if they do

nothing about it. during the winter, more people are tapping into the hot water. it is an ancient system and it breaks down. that is what we are doing for 570 o'farrell. we would have to change the way we do business here. we have orders of abatement, but it is usually for building that have to come down, for a stairway that collapses. we give the person a reasonable amount of time and work with them. as long as we see something going on, a contractor, said of plans, someone going through the permit process -- and i believe with 570 o'farrell, i believe that is what we are seeing.

we have someone here who can address that. >> chief plumbing inspector, dbi. i spoke with the owner of the building at 570, i have spoken with the contractors working with them. they explained it is in fairly good, running condition. it is an old system. i sent out one of my staff to go out there, who is knowledgeable on boilers and systems. he told me it is still running, but at this time next year, we will not accept any certifications from the contractor who certified it already from the past year. it looks like they are doing repairs to where it is in compliance but the repairs are surviving only to an extent and that are falling apart again.

unfortunately, with his unit, the building, they are going down for a few days at the time. at this point, looking at the system, speaking with the owner, she said money is tight at the building that she just took over. they are trying to finance and figure out a way to replace the system, give everyone ample time to know -- to give them notice. it is not an easy replacement. it is a larger system. removing everything and putting everything in will take some time. so they are tried to get everything in order. i have heard number. i told her i would get in touch this week or next week to see when they are planning to do repairs. commissioner murphy: commissioner walker. commissioner walker: i

appreciate that this is on the agenda, this broad issue. it is situations like this -- not just that one project. i do have questions about this one project and then i have questions about the broader effort for fixing. by next year, we want to see something different. >> i gave her a deadline of, two weeks, come back to me with an action plan. if they cannot take care of it, afford it, at that point, we would go to a director's hearing, and then force the issue. >> if it keeps breaking down, as a serial occurrence, creating a problem for the building,

everyone coming out, responding in the case of an emergency. >> to be fair, the only complaint that we have received is the one from the same tent. there are other people in the building and i have not heard anything from them. i am not saying that it is not happening. we are just not getting more people complaining. commissioner walker: on the concept of doing it an emergency resolution for a life issue, do we have funding for that type of thing? >> for plumbing, as far as i know, i spoke with a claims city

attorney. they explained there are funds for that. if there is work that needs to be done, which is a life safety and emergency, that we would contract out and then put the lien for the building. of then plumbing, i have no idea. -- other than the plumbing, i have no idea. >> director day had been throwing funds into it. it had been depleted for years. there is a chunk of money in there. i could not tell you exactly. the money woman is now shaking her head. >> pamela levin. there is about $300,000 in

there. that could be used up quickly. the process to recover the money is extremely slow. as ed mentioned, we were in a deficit, we moved some money in over there. and then it is also restricted. the other thing is an issue on contractors. if we are using our own contract, if we make the arrangements for a contractor to make repairs, and we are doing is based on paying this out of our own funds, that contractor has to be complied with all of the city rules. we are willing to point people in the direction to become compliant, but that is also a slow process. the city has lots of rules. it does not make it very easy. commissioner