How to Handle an ECB Violation Notice

An ECB violation is a city summons about a condition on your property. You may find it taped to the door, in a sale file, or still open on the building record years later. Older papers say ECB, for the Environmental Control Board. Newer papers say OATH, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. For a Buildings Department case, those are the same kind of summons. The class is printed on the paper. Class 1 is immediately hazardous. Class 2 is major. Class 3 is lesser. The class changes the deadline and the penalty. Call S & M Expediting when you find the paper. We will read the summons with you and tell you what it requires before any filing is made.

Read the hearing date

Read the hearing date the day you get the notice. Do not set the paper aside. The fastest way to know what to do next is to call us with the address and the summons number, at 718-833-2333 or info@sandmexpediting.com. We look the summons up and walk you through the date, the class, and the filing the city still needs.

Cure dates

Some summonses print a cure date. If yours does, an acceptable certificate of correction filed by that date, with the cure option selected, can let you avoid the hearing and the penalty. Not every summons has a cure date. Use the date on your own paper. Bring that date to us. We prepare the certificate and follow it with the city so a cure date is not missed.

Certificate of correction

A certificate of correction is the form and the proof you send the Buildings Department to show the problem is fixed. Proof can include photos, permits, receipts, and a sign-off from a licensed professional when the summons requires one. The city takes that filing through DOB NOW: Safety. Paying the fine is not the same thing. Paying on or before the hearing date admits the charge and gives up the hearing, and the violation can still sit on the building record until a certificate of correction is accepted, unless the case is dismissed. If you already paid and the violation is still online, call us. That is usually the missing filing, and it is the work we do.

Stipulations

Some cases are resolved by a stipulation. That is an agreement, usually around the hearing, on the penalty and on what still has to be corrected. A stipulation does not by itself remove the violation from Buildings Department records. The certificate of correction is still required unless the case is dismissed. Talk to us before you agree to one, so you know which filing still has to go in after the hearing.

The hearing

If you are going to the hearing, ask for a phone or in-person appearance before the date passes. OATH says a phone hearing has to be requested at least three business days ahead, and an in-person hearing at least five. If you do not have the time, or you are out of town, out of state, or out of the country, our staff can go to the hearing for you and work through the issues there. Call us before the date so we can appear for you. Missing the hearing is treated as a default, with the maximum penalty. If you already missed it, OATH allows one request to reopen. If that request arrives within 75 days of the missed date, OATH says it will grant it. Do not wait on a second notice. Call us with the summons number so we can see the status and get the correction filing moving.

Plumbers and contractors

If the condition needs a plumber, an electrician, or a contractor, you hire that licensed person. S & M Expediting does not do the construction. We will happily work with your own plumber or contractor. If you do not have anyone, or you cannot find anyone, we can refer you to a plumber, electrician, or contractor from our network. We look at the summons with you, prepare the certificate of correction and the related filings, and follow them with the city until the record is addressed.

Call 718-833-2333 or email info@sandmexpediting.com. Tell us the address and, if you have it, the summons number. That call is how this gets resolved. We will tell you what the paper requires before any filing is made.

S & M Expediting is a New York City certified minority- and women-owned business.