How to Handle a Zoning Violation (ZV)

ZV is the zoning code in a Department of Buildings violation number. The types page calls it a zoning violation. A DOB violation can rest on the Zoning Resolution as well as on the Construction Codes. The notice states the use or the condition. An order of closure, the padlock order, is VCLOS. The Padlock Unit enforces both Administrative Code section 28-212.1 and the Zoning Resolution, but the closure order is not the code ZV.

Read the notice

Confirm the number contains ZV. An asterisk means the types page marks the item dismissed. A multiple dwelling mark, MDV, and a work-without-a-permit mark are different codes. Illegal conversion is its own description: new living space built in an existing building without prior Department approval. Do not assume a zoning violation is a conversion unless the notice says so.

Older summonses say ECB. Current pages call that hearing path an OATH summons. OATH holds the hearing. OATH is not part of the Department of Buildings and does not issue the summons. A DOB violation includes an order to correct and has no court appearance. The Department will not issue a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy, or a Letter of Completion, while DOB violations remain active.

If a class is printed, Class 1 is immediately hazardous, Class 2 is major, and Class 3 is lesser. The class is severity. ZV does not set it. On a summons, read the hearing date and any cure date. Unless OATH dismisses the summons, the condition must still be corrected and accepted. Paying the penalty does not close the Department record. If the owner does not attend a hearing on an illegal-conversion case, the conversion page states default penalties as high as $25,000 for each violation. That figure is for that case, not a number printed on ZV.

What the city is requiring

Follow the zoning condition on the notice. The classification table lists illegal use in a residential district, illegal use in a commercial district, and illegal use in a manufacturing district, plus miscellaneous Zoning Resolution violations. Use the district and the use the notice names.

Occupancy charges in the same table are related but they are not the ZV label. They include occupancy of a new building or open lot without a valid certificate of occupancy, an altered building occupied without a valid certificate, a change of occupancy or use such as a place of assembly the certificate does not allow, and occupancy contrary to the certificate or Department records. The class on those charges depends on the charge. They apply when the paper states them.

If an OATH judge rules for the Department on an illegal manufacturing or commercial use in a residential neighborhood or certain commercial districts, the Department can issue an Order of Closure, post notices, and padlock the premises. That order is VCLOS. Removing a posted Order of Closure is illegal. It is not a step in clearing a ZV filing.

What S & M Expediting handles

S & M Expediting researches the ZV paper and the use it describes, including whether it is a DOB violation or an OATH summons. They prepare and file the certificate of correction and the related Department filings, and they follow them. When the paper is a summons, they can appear at the OATH hearing.

They are Class 2 filing representatives, never Class 1. We will work with the contractor you have, or if not, we will recommend one from our network. violation removal is the research and the filings.

Who does the corrective work

A design professional or other licensed person named by the notice prepares whatever the order requires to address the use. A contractor does any physical work. We will work with the contractor you have, or if not, we will recommend one from our network.

Call us at 718-833-2333 or email info@sandmexpediting.com. Bring the notice and any certificate of occupancy. S & M Expediting is a New York City certified minority- and women-owned business.