One of New Yorker's everyday nightmares is to be hit with falling scaffolding, and, this morning, a four-year-old was the victim of such an incident. The Post reports that she was "on her way to school on the Upper East Side" but luckily "escaped virtually unharmed this morning after she was struck by a wood plank during a scaffolding collapse." more ›

Two months after Zuccotti Park was forcibly evicted by the NYPD, the metal barricades and constant security presence remain, making the space less like a public park and more like a frozen zone. Today the NYCLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the NLG fired off a letter [pdf] to Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri asking him to "ensure that Zuccotti Park is open and accessible to all members of the public on an equal basis." more ›

Just days after we staged a North Brooklyn New Wave Neapolitan Pizza Battle Royale, major contender Motorino has been permanently knocked out of the competition by the Department of Buildings. more ›

Last week, a new Duane Reade opened on the Upper West Side at West 72nd Street and Broadway. While it does offer a growler bar and seems much airier than the usual DR, residents were livid about the 24-hour store's bright billboard on the second floor. One neighbor described it to WCBS 2 "almost like a strobe light... It went from a very serene environment to like being in a club. When I’m in bed, I can still see the flashes." (Just like Kramer!) But there may be relief soon. more ›

Opening a restaurant in New York is, above all else, not easy. Beyond the basic stuff you need to know there are hundreds of hurdles a prospective restaurateur must pass—not to mention thousands of dollars they must spend—before they make it to opening night (which doesn't even come close to assuring success). But it doesn't necessarily have to be this way! Last December the city started to make moves to make the process easier with a program called the New Business Acceleration Team—think of the city's Business Express program, but for restaurants—and the first trickles of a plan are starting to emerge. more ›

QR codes on building permits are apparently only the beginning! If the program to affix the codes on all Department of Building permits is a success the square barcodes may soon start popping up all over the place, most notably on the grades posted outside of restaurants. "The Health Department is exploring the possibility of putting bar codes on restaurant letter grades that would take consumers directly to a restaurant's latest [inspection] results," a DoH spokeswoman told the Daily News. more ›

Smartphone owners who have ever walked curiously by a construction site but not really felt like actually stopping to read or retain any of the information on the permits posted outside, the latest announcement from the Mayor's office is for you. Going forward all Department of Buildings permits will now include a QR code (those boxy barcodes that resemble 8-bit Mondrian paintings) and each of those codes will link back to relavent information on the DoB's website—including the applicant's phone number and a quick link to 311 (try the code to the left to see for yourself). All of the city's 900,000+ building permits are expected to have QR codes by 2013. more ›

Yeah, yeah, today is beautiful, but tomorrow is going to be seriously blustery. In fact, with gusts up to 60 MPH predicted, the Department of Buildings issued an inclement weather advisory to remind property owners, builders and contractors to take precautionary measures, like "Tie down and secure material and loose debris at construction sites," "Secure netting, scaffolding and sidewalk sheds," "Bring inside loose, lightweight objects such as lawn furniture, potted plants, garbage cans, garden tools and toys," "Anchor objects that would be unsafe outside, such as gas grills or propane tanks," and more. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's townhouse clearly has a certain magic to it. The five-story Beaux-Arts building at 17 East 79th Street boasts 7,500 square-feet of living space (even more if you include the floors of the neighboring buildings he has been annexing) and is so nice the billionaire from Boston has continued living there rather than move into the over-chefed Gracie mansion. But living in an Upper East Side townhouse does have its hardships. Like when the elevator isn't up to snuff and gets an "unsatisfactory" rating. more ›

Did you ever have a ham radio when you were a kid? Or see Contact? If not, this is a reminder that it's "the licensed and private use of designated radio bands, for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication." Paul Isaacs of the East Village has one, including a 30-foot radio tower that he insists was installed legally and licensed by the FCC. But neighbors who want it taken down complain that it's too tall, and the DOB recently issued a violation on the antenna. more ›

While the known universe was focused on the all-important "Ground Zero Mosque" fracas, the Department of Buildings has quietly pulled their approval of an Islamic community center proposed for Sheepshead Bay, just two days after approving it. And despite reasoning that it could cause parking problems or noise issues, property owner Allowey Ahmed is convinced the DOB caved to pressure from anti-Islamic locals. “It’s only common sense to assume that,” he told the Brooklyn Paper. “We lowered our plan from four floors to three out of deference to our neighbors. And now everything is on hold again." more ›

Don't listen to your realtor when they say that advertised apartment is really a two bedroom if you just throw up a wall in the middle of the living room. Though the DIY separation could make your rent cheaper, the city is cracking down on a previously widely ignored code about separation walls. Hundreds of walls thrown up without Department of Buildings approval are being taken down, and new renters are being told that if they want to separate rooms, they must use bookshelves or other partitions that don't reach the ceiling. more ›

After receiving a stop work order last week, rooftop farm Brooklyn Grange can finally get back to installing over a million pounds of dirt and seedlings on their Long Island City rooftop. Though they insist they began work only "after many months of intensive planning, exhaustive fundraising, and rigorous preparation," the New York City Department of Buildings claimed the group never secured the right permits for the project. But as of yesterday, they're back up and running. more ›

After a man fell to his death when his apartment balcony's railing gave way, the Department of Buildings found that 16 buildings have unsafe balconies. The DOB said, "Following the tragic accident in March, the department has intensified its focus on facade safety and as a result we have issued partial vacate orders to buildings whose balconies pose a risk to the tenants." more ›

The Buildings Department announced that its new Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement is Eugene J. Corcoran, making this the "First Time in Department History a Police Official Has Joined Senior Leadership" (full press release after the jump). The DOB has been under fire in the past few years, after a series of tragic construction accidents, like the Midtown crane collapse (neighbors had complained about the crane), the Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement oversees investigations and prosecutions of buildings as well as DOB staffers. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a three-story building at 34 Conselyea Street in Williamsburg collapsed, injuring four people—three construction workers and a passer-by who went to the scene to help. A neighbor, Jeff Wilser, said of one worker who was trapped for 20 minutes, "He was in the there up to his neck. I saw his head sticking out of the rubble. We tried to dig him out until [paramedics] showed up." more ›

After a 250-foot crane partially collapsed and ended up leaning against a Financial Street building on Saturday night, the Department of Buildings has suspended the license of the crane operator. A DOB spokesman said that Christopher Cosban "failed to leave the equipment in the safest position possible" when he left the work site. Um, can all other crane operators PLEASE leave equipment in the safest position possible before you head home? more ›

The 250-foot tall crane that partially collapsed and ended up leaning on 80 Maiden Lane last night was righted and then taken apart this morning. No one was injured (even though some of the building's bricks fell when the crane hit it) but concerns over the crane's stability prompted the evacuation some neighboring Financial District buildings. This morning, residents and workers in 80, 83, 90 and 100 Maiden Lane as well as 2 Gold Street were allowed back (there are still some street closures) as the authorities continue to investigate. more ›

After a resident's fatal fall from a 24th floor balcony, a Midtown East apartment building has come under fire for failing to inspect its exterior and balconies as required. Now some of its residents are showing the media its shaking railings and complaining about its stability. One told the Post, "You can see the foundation crumbling. The railing is wobbly and insecure. The railing is loose; the side isn't even attached." more ›

After learning that their 24-year-old son fell 24 floors to his death when his apartment's balcony railing gave way, Conor Donohue's parents told the Post, "We're just devastated. We're heartbroken. He was 24 years old. He was a great person who made the right choices in life." And now the Department of Buildings says the building failed to inspect the balconies as required by law. more ›

The owners of the Sony Building at 550 Madison Avenue were fined $25,000—for failure to maintain the building— after glass panels in its atrium fell during a Saturday night Purim party. Fifteen people suffered minor injuries and workers were seen trying to repair the roof yesterday. According to the NY Times, "ice fell from the 32nd floor of the 37-floor high-rise... striking two three-feet by five-feet glass panels at about midnight." The Daily News says the glass panels then fell 80 feet. more ›

For the first time since the 1950s, the city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds are going to get a makeover. The new scaffolding design — selected after an international contest — is intended to "improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks," according to the Mayor's Office. The so-called "The Urban Umbrella" will "complement the city's architectural beauty rather than take it away from it," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Sidewalk sheds are a part of New York life, reflecting the face of a city that is constantly changing — yet the sheds themselves haven't evolved at all during the past four decades and its time to bring them into the 21st century." more ›

Equinox gym has taken down the illegal and controversial ads that papered its Greenwich Village building. The advertisements—which pictured women and men in various stages of undress—spurred an immediate uproar when they were pasted up a week ago. Community members filed more than 80 complaints with the Department of Buildings and, since the Equinox in question is located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, the Landmarks Preservation Commission got involved. The upscale fitness center was threatened with $5,000 a day in fines if the ads weren’t removed. To the delight of the neighborhood, the giant, unwholesome images have now been peeled down — Curbed has before and after photos. more ›

We've spent a good chunk of time writing about illegal advertisements, but few have been as large — or caused as much fury — as this billboard in the West Village. Ever since the Equinox Health Club wrapped its Greenwich Avenue building with seemingly illegal ads, preservationists have been up in arms, according to Curbed. more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, today is going to be cold and blustery, thanks to an Arctic front. According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts of up to 47 mph will make the 26-degree weather feel like it's just 9 degrees this morning! more ›