In a statement released by his office today, Mayor Bloomberg layed out plans for how the city plans to deal with dangerous illegal conversions. And, oh yes, there's a task force. Their plan is to decide which buildings are at the highest risk and slap some vacate orders on them. In a pilot-run, about 40% of the buildings which met the task force's criteria were illegal conversions and needed to be vacated, compared to a city-wide average of 3%. And what are the criteria? Well they've got four metrics: Whether the building was constructed before 1938; whether the building is located in an area that has experienced high risk of dangerous fires; whether the property is in foreclosure or there is a tax lien on the property; whether the Department of Buildings has received prior complaints about the property. These high-risk properties are allegedly being inspected within 48 hours of being identified by a team of Fire Dept. and building inspectors. To protect yourself from a tragic outcome, take a look at the 10 tips on avoiding one of these places. Let's hope the city does a better job with this time than with their recent warrants.
· Illegal Apartments Coverage [Curbed]
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