Buildings Department (NYC)

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    Read the Allegations Against Ingrid Lewis-Martin and Other Associates of Eric Adams

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    For example, on July 12, 2023, LEWIS-MARTIN pressured the Deputy Mayor to leave a meeting with Mayor Adams – regarding hate crimes in New York City – to attend a meeting with LANDAU and HPD about the Red Hook Project. At approximately 11:32 AM, LEWIS- MARTIN texted the Deputy Mayor stating, “I know the mayor is major priority, but if you could skip out for second. They had been bugging the stuffings out of me.” Two minutes later, at approximately 11:34 AM, LEWIS-MARTIN sent a Signal message to MARTIN II and LANDAU stating, “Good morning: [the Deputy Mayor] is in a meeting with the mayor about hate crimes. She had [the Deputy Mayor’s Chief of Staff], her number one (1) join the call. I promise you that your project is priority. I need more.” At approximately 11:42 AM, LANDAU sent a Signal message to LEWIS-MARTIN and MARTIN II informing them that HPD “was giving push back and saying [the Red Hook Project] won’t close in December [2023].” At approximately 1:38 PM, MARTIN II replied, “Fuck him we make it close,” and at approximately 4:09 PM, LEWIS-MARTIN responded, “Ok. I agree with Glennie.” Within the same minute, LEWIS-MARTIN sent a text message to the Deputy Mayor stating, “Please give me a call when you have a chance.”

    LEWIS-MARTIN exerted similar pressure on the HPD Commissioner. For example, on July 28, 2023, from approximately 9:53 AM to approximately 12:13 PM, LEWIS-MARTIN sent multiple text messages to the HPD Commissioner directing him, in sum and substance, to “text me what is missing from the project that we discussed. I need to have a conversation with them,” and stating that she was awaiting the HPD Commissioner’s response. Later that afternoon, LEWIS-MARTIN called LANDAU using Signal. The next day, on July 29, 2023, LEWIS-MARTIN sent two follow-up text messages to the HPD Commissioner stating, “I have dates when all of the above was originally sent. More like months but [sic] weeks. We need to get it done,” and then adding, “December,” referring to LANDAU’s desired closing date for the Red Hook Project.

    In or about February 2024, HPD completed its background review of the project’s ownership structure and site acquisition allowing it into HPD’s “pipeline,” a list of projects slated to close. At any given time, hundreds of projects are in the pipeline, but only a few are able to close each calendar year. As a result, many projects wait multiple years before closing. But LANDAU would not wait his turn and LEWIS-MARTIN continued to push.

    LEWIS-MARTIN went so far as to engage directly with LANDAU’s representatives on the Red Hook Project by attending private meetings and phone calls without HPD or other City Hall officials present. For example, on April 10, 2024, at approximately 10:36 AM, LEWIS-MARTIN had a three-way conversation with LANDAU and his private consultant on the Red Hook Project. She stated, “We’re gonna, we gotta get that place [HPD] under control, so when we fucking tell them something, we expect them to make that shit move… I’m gonna speak to the Mayor, and then that’s it, so we’re just gonna push for December [2024] and we’re gonna keep it going.” The next day, on April 11, 2024, LEWIS-MARTIN confirmed a meeting with LANDAU and an attorney representing the Red Hook Project. HPD was not a party to these calls or meetings.

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      Brooklyn Roof Collapse Kills Worker at Construction Site That Lacked Permits

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      The worker, a 43-year-old man, was trapped under the fallen roof in an extension behind a former restaurant in Brooklyn, the Buildings Department said.A construction worker died in Brooklyn on Thursday after a roof collapsed at the site of a former steakhouse where demolition work was being conducted without the required permits, according to the New York City Department of Buildings.Around 8:50 a.m., someone at the scene called 9-1-1 about a partial building collapse, the police said. Emergency medical workers found a 43-year-old man trapped under the fallen roof, unconscious. He was in critical condition when he was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he later died, the police said. The worker’s name had not been released Thursday evening pending notification of his family.The work site was at the corner of Quentin Road and East 33rd Street in Brooklyn’s Marine Park neighborhood. A two-story structure there once housed a restaurant called T Fusion Steakhouse, which has closed. The structural failure happened in a concrete extension behind the building, which had been used for storage, according to the Buildings Department, which is investigating the incident.Workers had been demolishing a walk-in freezer and commercial kitchen, the department said, but no permits for the work had been filed with the city. Utility service to the building was shut off after the collapse, and inspectors with the Buildings Department ordered that the building be vacated and all work ceased.The Buildings Department posted a vacate order and a stop-work order on the building.Dave Sanders for The New York TimesThe Fire Department has requested an inspection to determine the building’s structural stability, according to public records.The building was bought in 2020 for $1.1 million by LA3223 LLC, which is owned by Larry Leiby Ackerman, according to property records. Since then, the only complaint on file with the Buildings Department about the site before Thursday was one filed last April, warning that balcony doors on the second floor of the vacant building were open to birds and trespassers, and that the backyard was full of garbage.The problems were resolved before inspectors arrived, according to department records, and the complaint was closed. A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Mr. Ackerman hung up when reached on Thursday evening.Alain Delaquérière More

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      Eric Ulrich, Former NYC Buildings Commissioner, Faces at Least Two Indictments

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      The former commissioner, Eric Ulrich, will be arraigned on Wednesday, along with at least four other defendants, several of whom raised money for the campaign of Mayor Eric Adams.The former commissioner of New York City’s buildings department surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early Wednesday morning to face at least two indictments in which he is accused of bribery, according to people with knowledge of the matter.The former commissioner, Eric Ulrich, is expected to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m., after a news conference by the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, and the head of the city’s Department of Investigation, Jocelyn Strauber. The full scope of the bribery case is expected to be revealed there.Mr. Ulrich surrendered at the district attorney’s office in Lower Manhattan shortly after 7 a.m. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Samuel M. Braverman, and was carrying a copy of Bill O’Reilly’s book, “Killing Jesus: A History.”People with knowledge of the matter said that at least five other defendants were expected to be charged along with him, most of whom donated to the campaign of Mayor Eric Adams, raised money for him, or both. Four were expected to be arraigned on Wednesday.Mr. Ulrich, who also was a fund-raiser for Mr. Adams, served as a senior adviser and was appointed to head the Buildings Department in May 2022.Mr. Ulrich resigned six months later, when news of the investigation surfaced. The other defendants are expected to be accused of seeking favors from him related to his position, according to the people with knowledge of the matter.Mr. Ulrich was expected to be charged along with Mark Caller, a Brooklyn real estate developer whom prosecutors will accuse of having offered Mr. Ulrich a discounted luxury apartment.Mr. Caller’s firm, the Marcal Group, worked on developing commercial and residential projects in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, including an 86-unit condo building in Rockaway Park and several others in the Rockaways, according to news reports from the real estate website The Real Deal and The City.According to the Marcal Group’s website, Mr. Caller “amassed a $100 million portfolio” of more than 1,500 units in “underserved communities.” The Marcal Group says in recent years it has collaborated with the city’s housing department on affordable housing projects and with Maimonides Medical Center on medical facilities.Also expected to face charges are Joseph and Anthony Livreri, brothers who own a Queens pizzeria, and Michael Mazzio, who operates a Brooklyn towing company. The Livreri brothers were also seen entering the district attorney’s office on Wednesday, shortly before 6:45 a.m.Law enforcement officials have identified Mr. Mazzio and the Livreri brothers as having connections to organized crime, and prosecutors had sought to find out more about Mr. Ulrich’s relationship with organized-crime figures.The district attorney’s office declined to comment before the 1 p.m. news conference.A lawyer for Mr. Caller, Benjamin Brafman, said his client “intends to plead not guilty and fully expects to be exonerated.”James R. Froccaro, Mr. Mazzio’s lawyer, said the tow company operator would enter a plea of not guilty, adding, “He’s innocent.”Mr. Ulrich’s lawyer, Mr. Braverman, referred to a statement he had made previously that noted he would not respond to any allegations before seeing the charges.A lawyer for the Livreris could not be reached for comment.Mr. Adams is not expected to be charged, but the investigation has put him in an uncomfortable position, given his appointment of Mr. Ulrich. His name has repeatedly surfaced in connection with the inquiry.Mr. Ulrich, the Livreri brothers and Mr. Mazzio were hosts of an August 2021 fund-raiser on behalf of Mr. Adams.Mr. Ulrich has said that Mr. Adams warned him of the investigation, which the mayor has denied doing. And Mr. Adams was among those whose conversations were wiretapped by investigators.A spokesman for the mayor said in a statement that Mr. Adams would “allow this investigation to run its course and will continue to assist the D.A. in any way needed.”The statement said, as City Hall has maintained for weeks, that Mr. Adams “has not received any requests from the Manhattan D.A. surrounding this matter and has never spoken to Mr. Ulrich about this investigation.”Mihir Zaveri More