Bowing Rear Wall Threatens Collapse at Bronx Landlord's 32 Units

New York City’s Department of Buildings issued an immediate-hazard violation against a five-story Bronx apartment building on September 21 after inspectors found its rear retaining wall bowing outward and at risk of collapse, city records show. The Class 1 citation, DOB’s most severe category, applies to 1029 Hall Place, a 32-unit walkup in the Longwood section of the Bronx owned by Hall Realty LLC.

Why it matters

A Class 1 violation means DOB inspectors judged the condition an immediate threat to life or property, not a paperwork lapse. The inspector’s notes describe a “rubble retaining wall” at the rear of the property with visible deterioration and an inward bow at its upper section, which the violation states is “creating a potential of collapse.” That wall sits behind a building holding 32 apartments, so any failure would land in occupied space, not an empty lot. The record also resolves an early discrepancy in how this tip was described: the address tied to the violation’s respondent field, 136-16 32nd Avenue in Flushing, Queens, is Hall Realty LLC’s own business and mailing address, the same one HPD lists for the company’s registered agent. The building itself, confirmed against DOB’s Building Information System and the city’s MapPLUTO property file by its Building Identification Number, is 1029 Hall Place in the Bronx.

The numbers

DOB fined Hall Realty LLC $5,000 for the violation, with a hearing scheduled for December 4. City property records show the building was constructed in 1907, stands five stories with 32 residential units, and is zoned R7-1. Ownership traces back further than this citation: an ACRIS mortgage record shows Hall Realty LLC financed the property through Astoria Federal Savings and Loan in 2002, and HPD’s active multiple dwelling registration lists Michael Baccellieri as the LLC’s member and Michele Kohler as its agent, both at the same Flushing address. This is not the wall’s first time on DOB’s radar. City violation records show a 2019 citation at the same BIN for failing to file the required Local Law 37 retaining-wall inspection report by the end of 2018, with the disposition noting the wall did not meet Local Law 37’s standard. That filing requirement exists specifically to catch deterioration like the bow inspectors found this month before it reaches collapse risk.

What’s next

A second DOB complaint tied to the building, opened two days after the violation, remained active as of this week, and the December hearing will determine whether the fine stands or escalates if repairs are not underway. For landlords sitting on pre-war walkups with structural retaining walls, the throughline is the same one Local Law 37 was written to force: a wall flagged once and not corrected does not go away, it gets worse and eventually turns into an immediate-hazard order. We track building-safety enforcement across the city on our New York market hub, including a similar Bronx violations case at 1773 Vyse Avenue, where an owner’s unresolved violations preceded a fire that emptied the building.