Stalled Astoria Alteration Draws DOB Wall Collapse Violation
A Class 1 DOB violation cites an unbraced brick wall at a stalled Astoria alteration site, with a $5,000 penalty and hearing pending in January.
New York City’s Department of Buildings issued a Class 1 Environmental Control Board violation against a stalled alteration site at 30-51 Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens, after an inspector found a tall, free-standing brick wall left without the bracing required to keep it from collapsing.
Why it matters
A Class 1 citation is the department’s most serious civil classification, reserved for conditions inspectors judge an immediate hazard rather than a paperwork lapse. ECB violation 39561126Z describes an unbraced, free-standing masonry wall at the building’s rear exposure, the kind of condition the department treats as a collapse risk once a job sits stalled and the wall is left exposed to wind and weather. The record does not show that the wall has already fallen, that anyone was hurt, or that DOB ordered the sidewalk or street closed. It documents a hazard the department flagged during inspection, not an event that has already happened. The address sits in Astoria’s low-rise Steinway Street retail corridor, where ground-floor stores sit below apartments on neighboring lots, so an unbraced wall on a halted job carries real foot-traffic exposure even without a confirmed injury. For related hazard coverage, see the retaining wall cited in the Bronx and more New York market coverage at The American Developer.
The numbers
- 39561126Z: ECB violation number, issued and served Oct. 27, 2026
- Class 1, BC 3306.8.2: masonry code section cited, infraction 1P7
- $5,000: penalty imposed, $0 paid, full balance outstanding
- Jan. 5, 2027: OATH hearing date, case still pending
- Leopold 21 LLC: ECB respondent, also PLUTO’s owner of record for the one-story, 2,000-square-foot retail building on the 3,510-square-foot lot, built in 1931
What’s next
The ECB file does not identify the underlying alteration job number or say what work stalled, and it does not show whether DOB has since re-inspected the wall or confirmed bracing went up. Leopold 21 LLC has a Jan. 5, 2027 hearing date to answer the violation. We will watch that hearing and the DOB BIS record for 30-51 Steinway Street for any stop-work order, vacate order, or re-inspection tied to BIN 4002493.
Quick answers
- What is the latest on 30-51 Steinway Street, Astoria, Queens?
- A Class 1 DOB violation cites an unbraced brick wall at a stalled Astoria alteration site, with a $5,000 penalty and hearing pending in January.
- What are the key numbers for 30-51 Steinway Street, Astoria, Queens?
- ECB penalty: $5,000; violation severity: Class 1; hearing date: Jan. 5.
- Where does the information on 30-51 Steinway Street, Astoria, Queens come from?
- The story cites NYC Department of Buildings (ECB) and NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO.
On the record
ECB violation 39561126Z (issued and served Oct. 27, 2026, Class 1, BC 3306.8.2 masonry, infraction 1P7) cites a tall, free-standing brick wall at exposure #4 of 30-51 Steinway Street left without the bracing required to keep it from collapsing at a stalled alteration site; respondent Leopold 21 LLC faces a $5,000 penalty with a hearing pending Jan. 5, 2027.
Public record · a810-bisweb.nyc.gov
Primary record
- Public recordPLUTO lists Leopold 21 LLC as owner of record for block 190, lot 2, a one-story, 2,000-square-foot retail (K1) building built in 1931 on a 3,510-square-foot lot, matching the ECB respondent.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us