Gentile calls Bay Ridge illegal home conversions an epidemic
The troubling practice of gutting one and two-family homes and constructing multiple units is becoming an epidemic in Bay Ridge and other southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods, according to Councilmember Vincent Gentile, who called together top-level city officials to begin formulating a plan to stop it.
In an attempt to crack down on the illegal house conversions, Gentile met with officials from the mayor’s office, Borough President Eric Adams’ office, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office, representatives from the Department of Buildings, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann to discuss putting together a comprehensive plan.
“Success will require a multi-pronged approach with vigilance and aggressiveness from all angles – big and small. To that end, while we’re working on a comprehensive approach to address the widespread practice of illegally converting one- and two-family homes, we’re also going to aggressively target noted bad actors with a history of dividing up these homes into many small illegal units,” Gentile said.