Brooklyn Owner Cited $10K for Demolishing Site Under Stop-Work Order
The same lot has an 8-story, 75-unit new-building filing under the business name Metro House II, filed 3 weeks before the cited demolition signed off.
The Department of Buildings fined A1 Gardens LLC $10,000 on Sept. 11 after inspectors found three Bushwick Avenue buildings in East Williamsburg “fully demolished and signed off 9/2/2026 while FSWO #39112043J in effect,” per ECB violation 39203853P. A full stop-work order was in force on the lot when the buildings came down. The same lot now carries an 8-story, 75-unit new-building filing.
Why it matters
The demolition job was filed April 22 and signed off Sept. 2, so the owner side cleared the site before the stop-work order’s underlying case was resolved. DOB treats that as a Class 1 violation under Section 28-207.2.2, and the penalty is $10,000 with nothing paid and a hearing set for Nov. 25. The history is long: the building had a partial roof collapse on Sept. 29, 2023, a full vacate order, a work-without-permit citation in April 2024, and a $12,500 penalty in September 2025 for ignoring the Commissioner’s order. DOB NOW lists a business called Metro House II as the owner on both the demolition and an 8-story, 75-unit new-building filing at 387 Bushwick Ave, filed May 26. That tells us who is building next, not who owns the land today.
The numbers
The violation itself is Class 1 and ACTIVE, with the $10,000 unpaid. The stop-work order comes from 39112043J, issued April 16, 2024 for new roof framing with no permit. The demolition filing put the work at $35,000 for a 1-story and two 3-story buildings, with a first permit Aug. 12 and sign-off Sept. 2. ACRIS shows A1 Gardens borrowed against the lot from Investors Bank in 2021 (a $2.75 million agreement) and recorded a $3,076,000 memorandum of lease on Jan. 23, 2026 with 401 Bushwick LLC. A1 Gardens took the lot in a 2002 transfer from A1 Properties LLC.
What’s next
Watch the Nov. 25 hearing outcome and whether the penalty rises, since the same respondent already drew a $12,500 penalty on this lot. The key open question is title: we found no deed to Metro House II in the lot’s ACRIS records, so the link between the cited owner and the company filing the 75-unit building is an ownership or control arrangement we could not see. DOB’s full ECB page was not reachable for us, so these figures come from the city’s open datasets. For other Brooklyn enforcement and filings, see our New York market page.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordECB violation 39203853P was issued Sept. 11, 2026 to A1 Gardens LLC (Brooklyn block 3109, lot 5, BIN 3071530) under Section 28-207.2.2 for unlawfully continuing work under a stop-work order. The text says the building was 'fully demolished and signed off 9/2/2026 while FSWO #39112043J in effect.' Class 1, status ACTIVE, penalty $10,000, nothing paid, hearing Nov. 25, 2026 (pending).View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
- Public recordThe stop-work order traces to ECB 39112043J, issued April 16, 2024 to A1 Gardens LLC for new structural metal framing across the entire roof with no permit. A further violation, 39161680N, was issued Sept. 26, 2025 for failing to comply with the Commissioner's order on that summons, with a $12,500 penalty. In all, the BIN carries 5 Class 1 ECB violations since 2023, including two for a partial roof collapse (Sept. 29, 2023) and a full vacate order.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
- Public recordDOB NOW shows a full-demolition job (B01363815-I1) covering a 1-story building at 385 Bushwick Ave and 3-story buildings at 387 and 393, filed April 22, 2026 with a $35,000 cost estimate, first permit Aug. 12 and sign-off Sept. 2. The owner business name on the job is Metro House II. The same business is listed on a new-building filing (B01379437-S1, filed May 26, 2026) for an 8-story, 75-unit building at 387 Bushwick Ave. Both filings sit on the lot that A1 Gardens LLC is cited on.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
- Public recordACRIS shows A1 Gardens LLC as borrower on a March 2021 mortgage and loan agreement with Investors Bank for the lot (agreement amount $2,750,000, mortgage $1,999,388.50), and a $3,076,000 memorandum of lease recorded Jan. 23, 2026 naming A1 Gardens LLC and 401 Bushwick LLC. The ACRIS record shows A1 Gardens taking the lot by a 2002 transfer from A1 Properties LLC. We found no deed from A1 Gardens to Metro House II in the lot's ACRIS documents.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
Sources
- NYC Open Data, DOB ECB violations, 39203853PClass 1, issued Sept. 11, 2026, respondent A1 Gardens LLC, penalty $10,000, hearing Nov. 25, 2026
- NYC Open Data, DOB ECB violations, 39112043JClass 1 work-without-permit violation, issued April 16, 2024, source of the stop-work order
- NYC Open Data, DOB NOW job filings, B01363815-I1Full demolition filed April 22, 2026, first permit Aug. 12, signed off Sept. 2, owner business Metro House II
- NYC Open Data, DOB NOW job filings, B01379437-S1New building, 8 stories, 75 dwelling units, filed May 26, 2026, owner business Metro House II
- NYC Open Data, ACRIS Real Property MasterMemorandum of lease, $3,076,000, recorded Jan. 23, 2026, A1 Gardens LLC and 401 Bushwick LLC