Tree Sweaters Return to South Slope

"Be honest, does this sweater make me look fat?"

Local yarn bomber vows to clothe an entire urban forest, one street tree at a time.

HPD Demos Park Slope Stalled Construction Site

Back When the Walls Were Still Standing...


More bad news for the troubled condo project 400 15th Street. This past week a crew of workers from NYC Housing, Preservation and Development started demolishing the unfinished concrete block walls on the stalled building's third floor.

Looks like the Department of Buildings Stalled Site Team filed an Emergency Declaration after an inspection on 12-3-2009 uncovered the unbraced cinder block walls. In the first photo, you can see the diagonally placed wood boards that were used to support the masonry walls for the better part of a year.

H.P.D. does not usually perform work on privately owned property unless the lord of the land has failed to make ordered repairs to their buildings and they have been declared imminently hazardous to the public. Of coarse H.P.D., through the N.Y.C. Department of Finance, will bill the owner for the cost of the work. If the owner fails to pay the bill within 60 days, a lien is placed on the property.

Some pictures from a rear window perspective of the job site before they stopped work for the New Year's holiday. Yes, that's the massive roof top of the soon to open Park Slope Armory Sports Facility in the background.





There has been a Stop Work Order Violation placed on the site dating back to January 2009. "New building' and "construction fence" permits have expired.














click on photos to enlarge




















This older photo of the 400 15th Street construction site shows the extent to which the neighboring building, 396 15th, had to be repaired after being damaged. The entire front and side facades had to be removed and replaced after the building shifted and cracked during the excavation for the new foundation next door. This accident happened shortly after work began, even before any underpinning could be attempted.

Apparently the new building's grandfathered R6 zoning allows for total lot coverage. You can see there is no setback at the rear yard and the two story wall begins at the shared 16th Street property line.

New Years Eve Snow People in Prospect Park

Part Giuseppe Arcimboldo, part Icy Detritus.

Three Little Reindeer

Merry Christmas

And Angels Sing...


One bold 84th Street resident of this famous Dyker Heights neighborhood has decided this season to submerge all his holiday decorations in a massive outdoor aquarium full of urine.

The un-named homeowner said he commissioned "Piss Christmas" from the Brooklyn born artist Andres Serrano to show how the true meaning of Christmas has been watered down.

A Port O Potty is in place to accept donations from the public to help cover the soaring costs of maintaining such an extravagant holiday display.

Organic Hookah Lounge Opens in South Park Slope

Stop, Shop 'n Toke.

435 Seventh Ave and 15th Street

According to the day-glow colored hand writing on the storefront window, Ajami Organic Hooka [sic] Lounge has opened shop in the storefront space recently vacated by the up-scale women's/children's clothing boutique that was lily.

Extra Soft Opening

Judging by their lack of interior design & spartan decor this place seems to be catering to the hardcore Shisha addict who enjoys puffing their hubbly-bubbly sans belly dancers and comfy throw pillows. It's a bare bones casual, wooden tables and chairs kind of place. Welcome to Difficult Smoking Hour... But there will be tea.

Regardless of your views as to the recreational value of smoking bubble gum flavored organic tobacco herbs, their poor penmanship is certainly going to have an adverse influence on the local school children.

Whiling away the hours.

Seems like a bold business model to prohibit children under 18 from entering... Everyone knows that most Park Slope nannies enjoy socializing around the pipe. I must know at least a baker's dozen worth of three year olds who could surely benefit from this hookah lounge's detox products, don't you?

South Slope Towering Ironclad Rooftop Fortress.

ARMOR-PLATED LAIR

The owner of this existing 11th Street parking garage is taking advantage of the 7th Avenue R6A commercial super villain zoning overlay to add on another two stories, topping off the building at 50 feet. This unusual rooftop altercation has an exterior facade completely fortified with an outer skin composed of oxidized adamantium alloy steel panels fused together at the seams.

The 3rd and 4th floor additions are set back from the street wall and barely visible from the opposing side walk, (see sky exposure plane) but the remaining floor(s), are most likely permitted obstructions (stairwell/elevator bulkheads), and are very much in plain sight.
This 8 car public garage occupies a rare double deep 200 foot lot and actually has an entrance on 12th Street as well as the 11th Street one pictured above. This new addition happens somewhere in a hidden location between 11th and 12th Street.

From this 12th Street side view you can see that they are using the open roof of the single story garage as a large backyard terrace. Wonder if the interior space is designed as equally brutal as the exterior...

Single family fortress
I noticed today they had a crane off-loading this gigantic crate of over-sized magnetic movable type. The same kind you stick on the front of your fridge only much bigger. Looks like another guerrilla marketing type campaign is in the works. Brokers can spend endless hours composing witty marketing messages that can be stuck to the building's outside iron siding, alerting potential buyers to this End Times enclave's amenities.

Mrs. Claus on Ice.

All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Mrs. Santa a dull girl.

17th Street Nativity Scene

Heavenly ESCO: GLORIA

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Excuse me Mame, if I could just see your utility bill... I know we can save you a heap of money...

Ker-falafel: The Olive has Fallen From the Vine.

Looks like the Olive Vine Cafe's 15th Street location has closed amongst allegations their employees were not being paid the minimum wage of $7.25 a hour. However, before you swear off the Zaater Bread, you should know the owner of the OV Cafe is currently "negotiating a resolution" in order to pay back those lost wages.
According to this sign on the door, they are still planning on making deliveries to this end of the Slope. Just make sure you tip those delivery men well, preferably in cash.


































NY 1 is reporting The State Labor Department released a report that says 25 Brooklyn restaurants and cafes owe at least $910,000 in unpaid wages to more than 200 workers.

State inspections of Park Slope restaurants during the spring found that some workers made as little as $2.75 an hour, which is far below the state minimum wage of $7.25.

Of the 25 cases involving 207 workers, 12 restaurants paid back the wages while 13 other restaurants are still in negotiations to pay back the wages.

Some of the worst violations involved delivery workers, who earned $210 to $275 a week for 60 to 70 hours of work.

Most of the involved workers were immigrants.

Park Slope Restaurants With Violations

The following restaurants are negotiating a resolution for payment:
Aunt Suzie's Restaurant
Bagel World
Bogota Latin Bistro
Coco Roco
Joe's Pizza
Marcho Corp's Cholita
Olive Vine Cafe (two locations)
Rachel's Taqueria
Sette
Song
Taqueria
Uncle Moe's

The following restaurants have made full or partial payments:
Baluchi's
Mezcali's Mexican (three locations)
Miriam Restaurant
Mr. Wonton
Nana Restaurant
Red Hot Szechuan
Slim Lamb "Miracle Grill"
Sotto Voce
Sweet Melissa Park Slope


























On an upbeat note... South Slopers may only have to wait till this January for the opening of David Massoni and partners' newest creation,
Thistle Hill Tavern.

The new owners are already busy gutting the old Olive Vine space, removing most of that unappetizing, overly polyurethaned wood paneling that seemed to cover every square inch.


For those Olive Vine regulars...

New Demolition Notification Requirements to Start December 2nd.

New Demolition Notification Requirements

On December 2, 2009, contractors must follow new requirements for notifying the Buildings Department before starting full and partial demolition work. These requirements are outlined in Chapter 33 section BC 3306.3 of the 2008 Construction Code. (Click here for PDF)


Full Demolition

The Department has changed the notification requirements for full demolition work. To notify, contractors must call (212) 227-4416 within 24 to 48 hours prior to starting work. The BEST Squad will no longer accept notifications. Callers will be given a confirmation number upon notification.

Partial Demolition

Contractors must notify the Department before starting partial demolition work. In certain cases, adjoining property owners must also be notified before starting work.

• Notification to the Department: To notify, contractors must call (212) 227-4416 within 24 to 48 hours before starting work. Callers will be given a confirmation number upon notification.

• Notification to adjoining owners: If partial demolition work will involve non hand-held mechanical demolition equipment, contractors must notify adjoining property owners. Contractors must also provide proof of notification to the Department by submitting a copy of the notification letter sent to the adjoining property owner along with a certified mail receipt from the mail carrier. The letter and receipt must be submitted when requesting a construction permit.


If full or partial demolition work will not begin as scheduled, contractors must notify the Department by calling (212) 227-4416 and providing the confirmation number that was originally created for the initial notification. Notification of cancellation must be made no later than the day work was scheduled to begin.




Questions?
Email OperationsRedesign@buildings.nyc.gov

Demolition Notification Number: 212-227-4416

"The Man Who Loved Flowers" 16th Street location

South Park Slope: 16th Street's Retro Movie Magic

That's actor Tony Plana sitting out on the front stoop filming a scene for a movie based on Stephen King's short story The Man Who Loved Flowers.

*Click on pictures to enlarge.

"The man who loved flowers" filming on 16th Street circa 1963

Still photos from today's afternoon shoot in front of Sud's Laundromat on Eighth Avenue and 16th Street.

It's an adaptation of the 1977 Stephen King short story "The man who loved flowers" being directed by Juan Pablo Reinoso and producer Wayfinder Films.

Capturing Brooklyn in the sixties... Two nice 'n pregnant ladies chatting out front of the neighborhood laundromat, smoking cigarettes.

Immaculate 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and 1958(?) Ford Edsel brought in for authentic 60's street cred.

Shooting continues Wednesday on and around Bartel- Pritchard Circle and Prospect Park.

What's 21123?

Mad men? Where to send the cleaning bill.
http://www.21123condo.com/email.asp?propertyid=1

South Slope: My Sugar Stoop

South Slope Stoop Series: 16th Street Gummy

My sugar stoop

My sugar stoop.
Where I come from there's a place called heaven

That's the place where all the good children go.
The houses are of silver
the streets of gold.
But there's more where you come from - my sugar stoop.
My sugar stoop
my sugar stoop.


Blood races to your private spots
let's me know there's a fire.
You can't fight passion when passion is hot

Temperatures rise inside my sugar stoop.

Let me take you somewhere you've never been

I could show you things you've never seen.
I could make you never wanna fall in love again

Come spend the night upside my sugar stoop.

Take advantage
it's alright

I feel so alive when I'm with you!
Come and feel my presence
it's reigning tonight.
Heaven on earth upside my sugar stoop.
Let me take you somewhere you've never been
. . .

I can tell you want me - my sugar stoop -
it's impossible to hide.
Your body's on fire
admit it! Come inside.
My sugar stoop
my sugar stoop.
Come upside my sugar stoop
my sugar stoop
my sugar stoop.
Come spend the night upside my sugar stoop

My sugar stoop
my sugar stoop.

572 Fifth Avenue plods along after worker's 4 story fall. Hot Karl out, King David in.

572 Fifth Avenue at 16th Street.
Developer HMY PROJECT LLC
7 Story, 18 Dwelling Units, 18,900SF Total Floor Area


POST APPROVAL AMENDMENT FOR NEW BUILDING DOC 01
APPLICATION PROCESSED - ENTIRE 09/21/2009 (D)
Application approved on: 10/05/2006

Comments for PAA Document 03 Modifying Document 01
Description of Amendment:

PAA FILED RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING TO CHANGE OWNER AND APPLICANT INFORMATION OLD - KARL FISHER, LIC.#021282
NEW - DAVID NAGAN, LIC.#205411

DAVID NAGAN
Business Name: KING DAVID ARCHITECTURE PC









































ACCORDING TO MONTHLY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS ACCIDENT REPORTS:
ON JUNE 6TH, 2009 the B.E.S.T. Squad reported

"A WORKER SUPPORTED BY A GUARDRAIL FELL APPROXIMATELY 4 STORIES INTO A SHAFT WHEN THE GUARDRAIL GAVE WAY, 8 ECB VIOLATIONS AND A STOP WORK ORDER WERE ISSUED"

NYC Department of Buildings
ECB Query By Location:
Premises: 572 5 AVENUE
BIN: 3024132 Block: 1052 Lot: 44 CB: 307

ECB VIOL# RESPONDENT NAME DATE FINE

34783374J S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $8,000
34790525N S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $5,000
34790526P S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $12,000
34790527R S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $8,000
34790528Z S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $12,000
34790529K S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $5,000
34790530H S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $12,000
34790531J S & P PIPING & CONST 060909 $0


ECB Violation Number: 34790528Z
Specific Violation Condition(s) and Remedy:
"FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD ALL PERSONS AND PROPERTY AFFECTED BY CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS, RESPONDED TO 1 ACCIDENT AT ABOVE ACTIVE SITE AS REPORTED BY FOREMAN, IRON WORKER WAS LEANING OR POSSIBLY SITTING ON THE..."


In a related story...

October 28, 2009
Construction Deaths Spike in City
By Patrick McGeehan

More than 30 construction workers died in falls and other events on job sites in New York City last year, the federal Department of Labor reported Wednesday. Chiefly because of that spike, the overall number of workers who died on the job in New York in 2008 was 90.

The toll of on-the-job fatalities, which had been on a downward trend for the past decade, was up 11 percent from 81 in 2007, according to the report, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the various ways New Yorkers were killed at work, the biggest increase was in falls, which claimed 29 people, up from 23 in 2007. All told, there were 31 fatalities related to construction, up from 24 in 2007.

Murders in the workplace also rose, to 18 from 15 in 2007, the report showed. But the killers used guns less often: the number of workers shot to death declined to 10 from 12.

“Construction clearly remains a dangerous activity,” said Martin Kohli, an economist for the bureau. “It clearly remains the area in the city where we continue to have the most fatalities.”

The national trend was quite different. On-the-job fatalities dropped by more than 10 percent, and the number of fatal falls was down by more than 20 percent, according to the report.

Mr. Kohli said he would not conclude from the figures that construction was less safe in New York than in the rest of the country. Instead, he attributed the divergence to the timing of the slump in building.

“New York City was still having a construction boom in 2008, and you started to see a bust nationally earlier than that,” he said.

Of the 90 people killed at work in the city, all but nine were men and more than half — 47 — were white.

Daniel O'Connor Architects: South Slope Mei Menachem Mikvah. The Latest Renderings.

Construction Update: 292 15th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.
MEI MENACHEM MIKVAH & SYNAGOGUE PARK SLOPE

New drawings from the Daniel O'Connor Architects web site:
"New construction of a three-story community facility for the Lubavitch community of Park Slope, Brooklyn. The building consists of three floors above ground and a full cellar space dedicated to ritual bathing for men and women."

"The second level is dedicated to religious activities. The third level includes a caretaker’s apartment and a large Sukah terrace for outdoor rituals."



From the IMBY archives:


Sunday, August 24, 2008
"292 15th Street Mikvah"

Sunday, December 28, 2008
"292 15th Street: Beds, Ritual Baths, and Beyond."


Monday, March 16, 2009
"South Slopers one step closer to spiritual purification."

515 Fifth Avenue Shrouded.

EIFS, (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems), aka Synthetic Stucco, in the process of being reapplied to the 13th Street side of 515 Fifth Avenue.
Water intrusion problems? I understand the builder, and not the condo owners, is picking up the tab for this costly repair.




"INSTALLATION OF PIPE SCAFFOLD FOR REMEDIAL REPAIRS AS PER PLANS. NO CHANGE IN USE OCCUPANCY OR EGRESS UNDER THIS APPLICATION. SIDEWALK SHED."

"REPAIR EXTERIOR FACADE"

Architectural Voyeurism #23

You have been served.

Vivian S. Toy: Prosperous Times Ahead for Lawyers and Engineers.

162 16th Street


October 25, 2009
Your New Condo Leaks? Join the Club

By VIVIAN S. TOY
ROOFS and windows that leak whenever it rains.

Heating and air-conditioning units that can’t quite heat or cool the entire building.

Balconies with flaking concrete and wobbly railings.

These kinds of complaints have become more and more common in recent months, according to lawyers and engineers who represent owners of sleek new condominium units across the city.

They say the wave of development in New York City that started in 2004 and crested in mid-2007 has resulted in a wave of accusations about defective construction and building design.

“There’s always an underlying number of lawsuits about defects,” said Stuart M. Saft, a real estate lawyer and the chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums, “but about a year ago the number started to increase. And over the next two years there’s going to be an explosion, because of all the buildings that were built at about the same time.”

He noted that buildingwide problems often don’t become apparent until people have lived in a building for a while. Legal action is often delayed because sponsors typically control a condo board for a year or more after a building opens and can block attempts by residents to file complaints.

But since condo owners have a three-year statute of limitations for suing a developer or construction contractors for negligence, many people who moved into new buildings in 2007 — when about 7,000 condos came on the market — are realizing that they will soon run out of time.

A negligence lawsuit charges a sponsor or contractor with causing harm or damage to condo owners. If the owners believe a written agreement has been violated, another legal strategy is to sue a sponsor for breach of contract. The statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years.

Lawyers at several firms said that the volume of condo defect work had doubled in the last year, adding up to dozens of buildings with construction problems. In most cases, the condo owners hire lawyers to add muscle to their complaints, in the hope of getting the necessary work done. In a few instances they have filed suits. Lawyers say that condo owners are reluctant to talk about the defects in their buildings, fearful that publicity will decrease the value of their properties.

Water leaks and climate control problems top the list of complaints. Many of the recently built glass towers are especially prone to temperature issues, because air-conditioning units are too small to combat the punishing summer sun, and heating systems can’t make up for a lack of insulation during the cold months.

But lawyers and engineers said that they had also come across buildings with more serious defects that violate the city’s building code. The most common code violation involves inadequate fire-stopping components — building materials that are used to fill empty spaces where fire or smoke can spread between floors and apartments.

Howard L. Zimmerman, an architect whose firm is checking about 35 new condo buildings for construction problems, said that his workers had found fire-stopping violations in about a third. He said his firm has clients in buildings of five to 300 units, throughout Manhattan and in Brooklyn and Queens.

According to Mr. Zimmerman, the most common problem is found behind the walls of apartments, where, say, no caulking material has been used to seal a two-inch space between a pipe and a concrete wall. That unsealed space, he said, “is where smoke and fire can travel quickly,” and it could also allow smells to float through a building. “Odor migration has been a tremendous problem, and if you buy a $3 million apartment, you probably don’t want to smell your neighbor’s smoking or the restaurant downstairs.”

Mr. Zimmerman says that the Department of Buildings can miss these kinds of lapses because architects or engineers hired by the sponsor are allowed to vouch for certain aspects of construction. “There was supposed to be somebody on the job who signed off that this was all installed before the walls got covered up,” he said. “As nutty as it sounds, just because you have a certificate of occupancy doesn’t mean you have a building that’s code compliant.”

He and real estate lawyers said that even when a condo board discovers building code violations, it is often reluctant to alert city officials because the board then becomes responsible for correcting the problem as well as for paying any fines.

James P. Colgate, an assistant commissioner at the Department of Buildings, says that condo boards are not under any obligation to report code violations. But when they do, the department may decide to investigate whether an engineer or architect improperly certified work at the building.

As for problems like water leaks, Mr. Colgate said that a certificate of occupancy was not the same thing as a guarantee. Such a document “certifies that the building is substantially in compliance with rules governing its construction,” he said, “and even if workmanship in a building may not be superb and you get those kinds of issues, the building might still be in compliance.”

When a building is clearly out of compliance, talk quickly turns to lawsuits.

Steven D. Sladkus, a real estate lawyer at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said that he represents an Upper East Side building where the developer put only one layer of wallboard between the floors, instead of the two layers required by city code to create a fire-resistant barrier. “The board knows that’s a serious code violation, and it’s prepared to do the work and sue the developer and hope for reimbursement,” he said.

Mr. Sladkus said that the board hoped that the New York State attorney general’s office, which oversees condominium offering plans, would press the sponsor to do the work.

It will be expensive and disruptive, he added, since contractors will have to remove ceilings and recessed lighting to install the fire-stopping materials.

At the Slate Condominium, a 12-story glass-walled tower in Chelsea where in 2007 one-bedroom apartments sold for as much as $1.4 million and two-bedrooms for as much as $1.9 million, the condo board filed a lawsuit in March accusing the sponsor, Chelsea Luxury Condos, of using defective materials and of not living up to promises made in the offering plan.

“The unit owners have not only personally observed a number of defective and unsafe conditions in the building, but they have suffered a plethora of dangerous conditions,” the suit states. The complaint lists incomplete fire-stopping in hallways, and uneven floors and water damage in various places. Problems common to individual units include warped floors and balcony doors, nonworking electrical outlets, rusted kitchen faucets and water leaks.

Most people moved into the 26-unit building in 2007, and the apartment owners took control of the condo board in April 2008. Debra Guzov, the lawyer representing the condo board, would not comment on the case.

Anna A. Higgins, the lawyer representing the sponsor, said the sponsor had hired its own engineer to inspect the building, and “our position is that the problems listed are mostly punch-list items and are not considered defects, but things that are under warranty and therefore the responsibility of the subcontractors.”

The sponsor has, in turn, brought several of its building and electrical contractors into the suit as third-party defendants, charging they were negligent. “This is a reputable building and company,” Ms. Higgins added. “And they take these matters very seriously.”

The sheer volume of new buildings that went up during the condo construction boom is the main reason for the increase in defective buildings, lawyers and engineers said.

“It happens in every cycle,” Mr. Saft said. “At the beginning of the cycle, workers are underemployed, then suddenly they’re busy, and at the height, there are too many projects and not enough workers. Then what happens is shoddy workmanship, and when you have sponsors running out of money, they start to cut corners.”

Andrew P. Brucker, a real estate lawyer with the New York law firm of Schechter & Brucker, said that the boom had prompted people with no experience in real estate to start building condos. “When the market was hot,” he said, “anybody who had a couple bucks suddenly became a developer, thinking they’d get rich. When the market was strong, if you complained about something, sponsors would fix it, but then the market started to tank and brand-new buildings aren’t selling out, so there’s no money to do that anymore.”

The more unusual problems that Mr. Brucker has encountered include a building whose developer built an illegal pool and another whose developer put the building’s electrical system in a closet inside an apartment. The pool, he said, was never approved by the Buildings Department and may have to be removed. The electrical closet may also be illegal, because it may not be easily accessible in an emergency. In both cases, the solutions will entail costly projects.

When it becomes clear that a building has problems that go beyond punch-list items — a kitchen drawer, say, that won’t stay shut or a closet door that sticks — the first thing owners should do is hire an engineer.

“You have to get a top-to-bottom assessment of the building — the interior, the exterior, all the systems,” Mr. Sladkus said. “That creates a record and tells the board where things stand.”

The sooner this is done, the better, he added, because it takes away a sponsor’s potential claim that problems were caused by the apartment owners. Depending on the size of the building, an engineering report could cost $10,000 to $50,000.

Filing a lawsuit is usually a last resort because it can be costly and take years to resolve. Lawyers say the condo board’s first course of action should be to try to negotiate with the sponsor, with a goal of having the sponsor make the repairs or pay a settlement to get the work done.

If that fails, lawyers said, a condo board can file a complaint with the attorney general’s office, which can help to mediate a dispute and press developers to make repairs. The office can, but rarely does, file its own lawsuit against a developer. But lawyers say that the attorney general has been inundated with complaints; it can take months just to find out if the office will take on a building’s case.

“The attorney general will look at life, health and safety issues and things like whether a temporary certificate of occupancy is current,” said Jeffrey S. Reich, another real estate lawyer at Wolf Haldenstein. “But it’s hard to get them motivated to roll up their sleeves on minor issues.”

Lawyers believe that the attorney general’s office is more likely to act on behalf of smaller buildings, because it recognizes that litigation could be prohibitively costly for buildings with relatively few unit owners.

That presumption is well illustrated by one case in which Mr. Reich represents the owners in a large luxury building that he had hoped the attorney general would see to. But, he said, “the sponsor’s attorney went to the attorney general and said they should not take the case because the apartments are larger than regulation basketball courts and the owners are titans of finance who are fully capable of pursuing it in court.”

Mr. Reich said he was able to persuade the office to keep pursuing the complaint only because an aspect of law was involved that could not be addressed in court because it fell under the attorney general’s jurisdiction.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general encouraged condo owners facing building problems to contact the office’s real estate finance bureau.

The attorney general’s Web site states that when the office receives a written complaint about a building, “we usually demand that the sponsor provide a written response to the allegations. Sometimes, this alone causes the sponsor to repair the defects.”

If that fails, the site states, the office may send its own engineers to inspect the property or have the two sides jointly hire an engineer or architect to evaluate the building and suggest solutions.

Sometimes, even when an early settlement offers the promise of resolution, unit owners still end up in court.

At the Broadway Arms, a 12-unit building that opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in late 2004, the owners took control of the condo board fairly quickly. When they noticed the leaking roofs, shoddy balcony railings and a faulty ventilation system in 2005, they hired an engineer to review the building.

By July 2006, the condo board had reached an agreement with the sponsor, Broadway Driggs Associates, to fix many of the problems the engineer had found. But Alan Winkler, the condo board’s lawyer, said that the work was never completed and that the board decided to sue the sponsor in late 2008 for failing to live up to the offering plan and the settlement agreement.

Mr. Winkler said that the sponsor had repaired the balconies and done some work on the building’s upper roof, but that a lower roof still had leaks, and various problems persisted in the common areas. “At this point,” he said, “there shouldn’t be any contention as to whether this work needs to be done.”

The sponsor denied the charges in court filings and has accused its building contractor of walking off the job. The contractor in turn has denied that in court papers and has claimed that the sponsor owes him $200,000.

Charles L. Mester, the sponsor’s lawyer, said, “A lot of the problems were fixed and it’s just an opinion of some other experts that what was done should have been done another way.” He added that the $200,000 figure “has no basis in anything.”

Five years after they moved into the building, the owners “would like to resolve this quickly,” Mr. Winkler said. “But they want to make sure they get the value they were promised for their units when they bought it.”