A Broadway office building that was illegally converted into high-end housing and that’s been called a “deathtrap” managed to fly under the radar of the city’s Buildings Department for at least five years — even though inspectors were called to the property four times since 2008.
But it wasn’t until this week that inspectors found the 60 illegal apartments — and a slew of safety violations — and ordered all the tenants at 1182 Broadway to leave immediately.
The red flag was finally raised by the city after the property owners met with planning officials to request that their 16-story office tower near the corner of 28th Street be given legal residential status, long after families were living there.
“As soon as we realized there were code issues and life safety issues, we notified the Department of Buildings,” said Rachaele Raynoff, a spokeswoman for the city Planning Department.
The building did not have a second stairway for emergencies, and it did not have a fire sprinkler system or adequate alarms. A source familiar with the investigation called it a “deathtrap.”
Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani said the inspectors were responding to complaints about the exterior of the building and would have focused their efforts there.
“The reason they were there were all for exterior issues,” said Sclafani, adding that had inspectors seen the illegal conversion, they would have reported it.
“If we see something out of the ordinary, we’ll act on it,” he said.
In 2009, DOB issued 1,116 vacates for to illegal conversions where there was an imminent threat to public safety, a slight rise from 1,086 in 2008.