About building violations issued
Summary
This section of EveryBlock publishes every new building code violation in New York.
Where we get the data
The data is retrieved from the Building Information Search system (BIS) as maintained by the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB).
How often we get the data
EveryBlock retrieves permit data from this system on a nightly basis. BIS does a direct query of the building department's database, so it will always have the most up-to-date data.
About building violations issued in general
The most common type of building violation in New York City is an "ECB Notice of Violation". The "ECB" stands for Environmental Control Board (ECB), which is an administrative court. The ECB Notice of Violation contains a notice that a property does not comply with applicable provisions of law, usually the Building Code or a Local Law. It also contains an order to correct the violating condition and to certify correction at the Department of Buildings.
The respondent -- the person named in the violation -- must attend the hearing at the ECB in order to contest (raise a defense against) the violation, unless the violation notice indicates that the cure or stipulation options are available. The respondent is always responsible for submitting proof that the violating condition was corrected by submitting a Certificate of Correction.
To certify that you have corrected the violating condition(s) described in the ECB Notice of Violation, a Certificate of Correction form and related documents must be filed with the department’s Administrative Enforcement Unit, which must also approve it. If the department accepts the proof, the property's record will show that the violation was corrected. A violation that is not dismissed by ECB will continue to appear as "open" on the Department of Buildings records until acceptable proof is submitted that the violating condition has been corrected even if the penalty imposed at ECB has been paid.
See more information on violations here, including more detailed explanations of ECB violations and publications for understanding them.
Other source material
Sources: the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) Web site, the DOB publication, "ECB Violation Reference Guide: Part 1 - Understanding Your ECB Violation" (PDF), and the Building Code of the City of New York