Scaffolding hugs the façade, permits from the Department of Buildings plaster the glass front door and windows are covered in plastic.

But there are actually six tenants living at 315 W. 103rd St. Their home has become a permanent construction site because the landlord apparently falsified a building permit.

Two years ago, Jacob Avid of Dan-Bran Realty LLC bought the building and applied for permits to build a two-story rooftop and rear-yard addition. The permits stated that the eight-unit building was vacant, but it was actually occupied.

Mark Danna, a 30-year resident of 315 W. 103rd St., has lived in a stalled construction site for nearly five months. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Unlike work on an empty building, construction on an occupied structure comes with a bevy of regulations. In fact, Avid’s permit application, approved by the city on Jan. 5, 2009, acknowledges that the building’s structural stability will be affected by the proposed work.

One resident took a buyout from Avid, but others—a mix of rent-stabilized and controlled tenants—rebuffed offers. Mark Danna, a crossword puzzle writer who works from home, rejected a “low-ball” offer as nowhere near the six-figures he wanted.

Danna is one of two tenants left in the building whose apartment faces the rear yard. The addition looks like a steel patio with a roof, and it is only accessible through his living room window. Danna believes the idea was to create a bigger apartment that would likely be unaffordable for a renter like him. Now, this addition envelops his windows that used to look out onto the yard.

“You’re not living in your castle, you’re in the dungeon,” said Danna, a 30-year resident. “My light and air was taken away from me.”

The Department of Buildings revoked the permits July 8, when an audit stemming from numerous tenant complaints determined that the building was not vacant. Previous complaints had been dismissed by inspectors who felt there were no violations, according to the department’s Buildings Information System.

A receptionist at Avid’s office at Kore Properties Group said that Avid did not want to comment. Avid, through Kore Properties Group, is known to rent out units in his buildings to tourists. His apartments are listed on numerous hotel websites, as reported in West Side Spirit.

Since the city pulled Avid’s permits, the construction has stalled. This is a relief for tenants, but the damage has been done. Hot water is spotty in Danna’s apartment and there are signs of water leakage in other units. Tenants can call 311 to lodge a complaint and get the Department of Buildings to investigate, but redress appears to be up to Avid.

Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, whose office pressed the city to pull the permits, said that more and more landlords are lying on applications. O’Donnell wants a policy change that will create penalties for such actions.

“If they file a fraudulent application, there has to be some cost to the building owner,” O’Donnell said. “Filing a false instrument is a crime, okay? The truth is this isn’t a little bit fraud. This is a huge fraud.”

As for Danna, he’d like the landlord to take down the additions that have disrupted tenants’ homes. But the only way Avid can get his permits back and continue construction—or take down what has been built—is if he reapplies for them and acknowledges that there are tenants living in the building. He would then have to submit a tenant protection plan, which was waived the first time. How long this will all take is difficult to estimate. Anything from mistakes on the application to the volume of applications the department receives can delay permits.

“Why should he be rewarded,” Danna said, “when he did it illegally and upset our lives?”

Department of Buildings spokesperson Ryan Fitzgibbon said it was not a major accident and there were no reported injuries. The incident occurred, she said, as workers were dismantling the crane, at 775 Columbus Ave., and a counterweight fell, damaging the sidewalk shed. The 13-story, mixed-use building was under construction and is stable, according to Fitzgibbon.

The department issued a full stop work order for the crane, and issued Environmental Control Board violations to the crane’s owner, crane operator and the site’s general contractor for failing to safeguard the public and property affected by construction operations. Work on site is continuing, however.

Photo by Andrew Schwartz

The crane was working on Joe Chetrit’s Columbus Square project, consisting of five luxury rentals and retail space at Park West Village, along Columbus Avenue between West 97th and 100th streets. Police, firemen and Building Department personnel were on the scene this afternoon, directly across from the new Whole Foods. As of 5 p.m. that day, workers were in the process of removing the crane, owned by U.S. Crane and Rigging. Atlantic Hoisting and Scaffolding, which owns the sidewalk shed, was also making repairs.

David Fuhrman, who lives on the 15th floor of 382 Central Park West, said he had filed two complaints about the crane with the department, starting on Oct. 5, before this afternoon’s accident.

“The crane operator should not be operating this crane,” he said. “It pisses me off. It could have been my building.”

Preservation groups have long urged the city to protect the Beaux Arts-style building, which provided electricity to the city’s subway system in the early 20th century. In 1959, Con Edison bought the powerhouse. Today, the building is maintained as a steam station that serves Manhattan from Battery Park City to West 96th Street.

“This building is a vestige of the city’s industrial waterfront and recalls an age in which a building’s design sought to elevate the character of its neighborhood,” said an aide to State Sen. Tom Duane, reading his testimony to the commission.

Council Member Gale Brewer suggested future uses for the building that could have a public benefit, such as an art museum or event space in the increasingly residential area.

“Please designate the IRT powerhouse as a landmark and ensure that this great monument will remain a fixture in New York for generations to come,” Brewer told the commission during testimony.

Con Edison opposes landmarking the building because of the tough regulations and restrictions the measure would impose.

“Landmark designation will unnecessarily make it more difficult, restrictive and costly to operate, maintain, modify and enhance the station now and in the future,” said James Stanzione, the plant manager at the steam station, in testimony to the commission.

An architect for Con Edison, Michael Corcoran, testified that the building has undergone massive changes that have removed much of the historically significant detail, such as cornices, Spanish tile roof and several arches.