Landlord Charged with Criminal Violation of Window Guard Law

Landlord was charged with violating the NYC window guard law and health code by not providing, installing, and maintaining window guards in apartments occupied by children under the age of 11. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case. Landlord claimed that the charges were general and didn't state sufficient facts. Landlord also claimed it was singled out and that the law wasn't generally enforced in this way. The court ruled against landlord, refusing to dismiss the case. A health department employee had stated that the window guards in landlord's building didn't provide ''stops'' and that the guards failed a disk test. While ''disk test'' wasn't defined in the law or regulations, this wasn't a reason to dismiss the charges. The health department worker was qualified to state that landlord's window guards didn't function properly. Also, landlord provided no proof of its claim of discriminatory enforcement.

People v. Kaszovitz: NYLJ, p. 28, col. 4 (2/7/96) (Crim. Ct. Bronx; Rosen, J)