Goodbye Lady In Red: Massive Illegal West End Avenue Building Advertisement Comes Down

By Gus Saltonstall

A massive advertisement that went up on the face of a building at 720 West End Avenue at the end of January came down over the weekend.

Following exclusive reporting from West Side Rag, the advertisement for a new luxury building at the address was removed after the Department of Buildings found that the sign was illegal for multiple reasons, including that it was erected without a permit, unlawfully affixed to a scaffolding net, and that it was too high above the curb level in a residential district.

A hearing with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is scheduled for April 18 to litigate the four issued violations.

So, what happens now that the advertisement was taken down?

To start with, the removal of the sign won’t get the building’s owner out of the OATH hearing, but it does give them new options.

If the owners of 720 West End Avenue file a Certificate of Correction before April 8, the violation of “work without a permit” will be “curable,” according to a spokesperson from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB). However, the other three violations are not considered “curable” and the owner and the contractor will still have to appear at the OATH hearing to address the violations.

A Certificate of Correction has not been filed as of Saturday, the DOB spokesperson told the Rag.

At the OATH hearing, the owner and contractor will have the chance to dispute the violations, and ask the independent judge to dismiss the case. If the violations are confirmed, they will then turn into penalties that come with monetary fines.

WSR will update this story with the results of the OATH hearing.

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