Landlord Claims Abatement Unauthorized

DEP issued a violation notice to landlord for various asbestos regulation violations. Landlord claimed that it had never authorized anyone to perform asbestos abatement in the building. Landlord claimed someone had sneaked a crew into the building basement and ripped open walls in order to force landlord to hire him to do asbestos removal. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined it $9,500. Landlord appealed. The ECB again ruled against landlord. There is a presumption that landlord caused, permitted, or allowed asbestos removal activities. Landlord didn't prove otherwise. The superintendent claimed he'd let a crew of men into the building because they said they were there to clean up and paint. He didn't question why they were there or who sent them. And landlord's claim that a particular person came into the building to pull off this scam was based on neighborhood rumors of other such incidents. Landlord didn't prove this had actually happened.

City of New York v. 201 Realty Associates: ECB App. No. 13239 (6/30/93) [3-page document]