[Added by L.L. No. 4-1953]
[Added by L.L. No. 4-1953; amended by L.L. No. 4-1985]
The Mayor shall appoint a Commissioner of Buildings to hold office during his pleasure. The Commissioner of Buildings shall be the head of the Department of Buildings. He shall appoint to hold office during his pleasure, except as otherwise provided by law, a First Deputy Commissioner of Buildings, a Second Deputy Commissioner of Buildings, a Superintendent of Plumbing and such other subordinates as may be prescribed by the Board of Estimate and Contract. In case of the absence or disability of the Commissioner of Buildings, or a vacancy in the office, the First Deputy shall discharge the duties of the office until the Commissioner of Buildings returns, his disability ceases or the vacancy is filled. In case of the absence or disability of both the Commissioner of Buildings and the First Deputy Commissioner of Buildings, or a vacancy in both offices, the Second Deputy shall discharge the duties of the office until either the Commissioner or the First Deputy returns, such disabilities or one of them ceases or the vacancies or one of them is filled.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1955; L.L. No. 4-1962; L.L. No. 4-1964; L.L. No. 1-1972]
Except as otherwise provided by statute, and subject to the provisions of law and ordinances of the City Council, the Department of Buildings shall have jurisdiction, supervision and control as follows:
1. 
Over the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance, the Building Code and other laws, ordinances, rules and regulations governing the construction, alteration, maintenance, use, occupancy, safety, sanitary and mechanical equipment and inspection of buildings or structures in the City, and shall have charge of the removal of buildings or other structures and of the location, construction, alteration and removal of signs, illuminated, or nonilluminated, attached to the exterior of any buildings or structure or erected on any premises, together with all surface and subsurface construction within the sidewalk area, other than pertains to the construction or use of the streets and highways for street and highway purposes, the coverings thereof and entrances thereto, and the issuance of permits in references thereto.
2. 
In addition to the foregoing, the Commissioner of Buildings shall have full power and authority to require the owner of any premises within the City upon which there shall be a building that is unoccupied and in an untenantable condition, or a wall, building or other structure, or part thereof, which may be dilapidated and in an unsafe or dangerous condition, to take down and remove the same, and to clear away any and all debris caused thereby, and require the owner of any premises within the City containing or consisting, in whole or in part, of an abandoned excavation to fill in the same. For the purposes of this section, a building which has not progressed beyond the first tier of beams within six months from the date of issuance of permit therefor, shall be considered a building in untenantable condition; and an excavation which exists for a period of three months shall be considered an abandoned excavation. When the owner of such premises shall fail or neglect to raze or remove such building, wall, or other structure, or to clear away said debris, or fill in said excavation, within five days after written notice so to do has been served upon him personally or by delivering and leaving the same at his residence, or if he be a nonresident of the City, by mailing the same to him at his last known place of residence, or if the name of the owner or his last place of residence cannot be ascertained after due diligence, by posting the same in a conspicuous place upon the premises, the Commissioner of Buildings shall have such building, wall or other structure taken down and removed, such debris cleared away and such abandoned excavation filled in, and the expense of said razing, removal, clearing away and filling in, when certified by said Commissioner to the City Council, shall thereupon be chargeable and become a lien upon the said premises and shall be paid by the City out of its general funds and levied, corrected, enforced and collected in the same manner, by the same proceedings and under the same penalties as an assessment for a public improvement. In the event that the owner of such premises is a corporation, personal service of said notice upon an officer, director or managing agent thereof shall be sufficient and equivalent to personal service upon an individual owner, and an office or place of business of such corporation shall be and constitute the "residence" of the owner hereinabove mentioned. In all cases where the Commissioner of Buildings certifies expenses to the City Council pursuant to the foregoing provision of this section, he shall simultaneously transmit to the Comptroller a duplicate original of such certification and the Comptroller shall upon receipt thereof forthwith docket the amount of such expense in the tax rolls against the real property affected with a notation "Assessment pending pursuant to § 113-a of the City Charter."
3. 
In addition to the foregoing, the Commissioner of Buildings shall have full power and authority to require the owner of any premises within the City who is or has been required by the Zoning Board of Appeals or otherwise by law to erect and maintain fences, hedges, plantings, shrubbery, lawns or other screening or landscaping facilities on said premises, to erect, replace, repair or maintain said fences, hedges, plantings, shrubbery, lawns or other screening or landscaping facilities.
4. 
When the owner of such premises shall fail or neglect to erect, replace, repair, or maintain said screening or landscaping facilities within 30 days after written notice so to do has been served upon him, either personally by delivering and leaving the same with him, or by mailing the same by registered or certified mail to him at the address shown on the last preceding assessment roll, or if the name of the owner or his last place of residence cannot be ascertained after due diligence, by posting the same in a conspicuous place upon the premises, the Commissioner of Buildings shall have such screening or landscaping facilities erected, replaced or repaired and the expense of said work, when certified by said Commissioner to the City Council, shall thereupon be chargeable and become a lien upon such premises and such amount shall thereupon be paid by the City out of its general funds and shall be levied, corrected, enforced and collected in the same manner, by the same proceedings and under the same penalties as an assessment for a public improvement. In all cases where the Commissioner of Buildings certifies expenses to the City Council pursuant to the foregoing provision of this section, he shall simultaneously transmit to the Comptroller a duplicate original of such certification and the Comptroller shall upon receipt thereof forthwith docket the amount of such expense in the tax rolls against the real property affected with a notation "Assessment pending pursuant to § 113-a of the City Charter."
5. 
In the event that the owner of said premises is a corporation, service of said notice upon an officer, director or managing agent thereof shall be sufficient and equivalent to personal service upon an individual owner, and an office or place of business of such corporation shall be and constitute the residence of the owner hereinabove mentioned.
6. 
Whenever the estimated expense of work to be performed at the expense of an owner exceeds $1,000, the Commissioner of Buildings shall not permit said work to be done until authorized by the City Council and the Board of Estimate and Contract. Bids for the performance of said work shall be advertised and contracts for same awarded in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of this chapter.
7. 
The Commissioner of Buildings, in respect to all matters, the jurisdiction, charge and control whereof is vested in him by the provisions of this section, shall have all the functions, powers and duties in respect thereto now vested in or imposed upon any department, bureau or officer of the City and such functions, powers and duties are hereby transferred to the Commissioner of Buildings as head of the Department of Buildings and shall be exercised and performed by him.
This assignment or transfer, however, shall not operate to divest the Board of Estimate and Contract of any power or duty in respect to such matters now vested therein by law, except as expressly provided by this section.
[Added by L.L. No. 1-1962; amended by L.L. No. 1-1972]
In addition to the foregoing the Commissioner of Buildings shall also have full power and authority to erect, replace, repair or maintain fences, trees, plantings, shrubbery and other screening on premises located within the City of Mount Vernon, where such screening facilities are required by direction or order of the Zoning Board of Appeals or by any zoning ordinance and there is a failure to comply with such direction, order or ordinance, and if after given 30 days' notice by registered mail addressed to the owner of record of such premises at the address shown on the last preceding assessment roll, such fences, trees, plantings, shrubbery or other screening, are not so erected, replaced, repaired or maintained, by or on behalf of such owner, and, the expense of such erection, replacement, repair or maintenance of fences, trees, plantings, shrubbery and other screening, when certified by the Commissioner of Buildings to the City Council, shall be paid by the City and such amount shall thereupon be and become a lien upon said premises and shall be levied, corrected, enforced and collected in the same manner and by the same proceedings, and under the same penalties as an assessment for a public improvement. If the name and place of residence of the owner does not appear on said assessment roll or cannot be ascertained after due diligence, the said notice shall be given by posting the same in a conspicuous place upon the premises.