Local pols announce ‘multi-pronged’ attack on illegal conversions
On Sunday, March 8, elected officials gathered outside the Eglise Baptiste Clarte Celeste Church – an East Flatbush house of worship that suffered severe damage following a November, 2014 fire that took the life of one 24-year-old man and displaced 16 people –to announce the latest “multi-pronged” attack on illegal home conversions, the very issue that helped fan the flames.
“Illegal home conversions have been putting New Yorkers in harm’s way for decades, especially in my district, where we have seen two major fires in converted apartments this past year alone,” said Councilmember Jumaane Williams, joined by Councilmember Vincent Gentile and Borough President Eric Adams outside of the three-story building that was once home to an illegally converted dwelling above the church.
The trio’s bill, he said, would create a new building code violation category called Aggravated Illegal Conversion, that would penalize any property owner who creates three or more living units in a single unit or part of a unit without proper permits.