Department of Buildings: 202 Avenue A does not have a 'valid certificate of occupancy'

Early Friday morning, a 26-year-old woman from the Bronx died after falling from a fire escape on a building on 28th Street near Second Avenue. 

According to published reports, Tyler Thorpe was heading to the roof of the 5-story building to hang out with friends around 1 a.m. 

Media outlets were quick to note that this was the second fatal fall from a Manhattan building in less than a week. 

On May 22, Cameron Perrelli reportedly slipped and fell while climbing up from 202 Avenue A to the roof next door at 200 Avenue A. 

"These accidents will not stop till something is done," her father, Louis Perrelli, told the Daily News on Saturday. "It is so heartbreaking for my family, and now another has to endure this tragedy." 

In one development involving 202 Avenue A, the Department of Buildings inspected the address on May 26 regarding a "report of recreational use of the rooftop, contrary to the C of O."

The inspector found the following, per public records:

OBSERVED ROOF CONVERTED TO RECREATION SPACE PER DRAWING #A-106.01 ON ALT 1 APPLICATION #121188231 (PERMIT VALID THRU 10/17/2021) WITH SEATING FOR APPROX. 20 PERSONS, TABLES, BARBECUE AND SINK. BUILDING IS FULLY OCCUPIED WITH TENANTS OBSERVED ON MULTIPLE FLOORS. BUILDING ALTERED UNDER ALT 1 APPLICATION AND OCCUPIED WITHOUT A VALID CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.

The DOB subsequently issued a Class 1 Environmental Control Board (OATH) violation.

There are three classes of OATH violations:

Class 1 (Immediately Hazardous)

Class 2 (Major)

Class 3 (Lesser)

According to public documents, the DOB imposed a $2,500 fine and scheduled a hearing for July 15. 

The DOB states that Immediately Hazardous violations must be quickly rectified. If an acceptable Certificate of Correction is not received, then additional civil penalties may apply.

Highpoint Property Group owns 202 Avenue A, which goes by The Topanga, having purchased the building in late 2017 for $6.75 million. Workers later added a horizontal and vertical enlargement to the existing 4-floor structure, doubling the total square footage from 5,334 to 10,920.

The penthouses, which include outdoor spaces, rent for $12,000 a month, listings at Streeteasy reveal. According to 311 records, there have been nearly 75 noise complaints at the address going back to December, when occupancy began at the renovated building.

Media outlets reported that Perrelli, 24, who worked as a project manager for a global research firm, was attending a birthday party at 202 Avenue A when she fell into an airshaft around 3 a.m.

Perrelli's death, coupled with reports of other disruptive rooftop parties in the neighborhood, prompted local elected officials to introduce new legislation to demand accountability from property owners. 

"This tragedy shows just how dangerous overcrowded or mismanaged rooftop parties have become and how often they have little to no safety protections or monitoring," local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera said following Perrelli's death.

Rivera is working on two bills to address this issue. She has already introduced Intro 1292, which would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes. She's planning on introducing a second bill that would ensure enforcement agencies have easier access to phone numbers of overnight building supers or contacts and require better oversight of rooftop use and capacity.

Elected officials call for more rooftop oversight; details emerge about woman who fell from 202 Avenue A

Local elected officials are calling for more city oversight and increased landlord responsibility after a 24-year-old woman died from a fall while attending a rooftop party at 202 Avenue A early Saturday morning.

"This tragedy shows just how dangerous overcrowded or mismanaged rooftop parties have become, and how often they have little to no safety protections or monitoring," local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera said during a press conference on Sunday morning outside the building between 12th Street and 13th Street. "We will continue to pursue my legislation to ensure agency responses so that these deadly situations do not happen again. But landlords are ultimately responsible for ensuring outdoor spaces are legally and safely accessible and are not used improperly. If you make the decision to buy a building, you are responsible for the lives of its residents. And these landlords are not living up to that responsibility."

Rivera is working on two bills to address this issue. She has already introduced Intro 1292, which would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes. She's planning on introducing a second bill that would ensure enforcement agencies have easier access to phone numbers of overnight building supers or contacts and require better oversight of rooftop use and capacity.

"We've heard complaints from constituents regarding out-of-control rooftop parties, even before the start of the pandemic," said Assemblymember Harvey Epstein. "I'm committed to ensuring we push state legislation and hearings to address this ongoing problem. The city and state need to take control of this situation before we lose more lives."

Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer also said that she supports a City Council hearing and a City Hall review of building code enforcement procedures related to rooftop parties, which some residents say have increased in recent years with a spate of new or renovated buildings offering outdoor amenities.

Residents who have been enduring unending rooftop parties hope that the proposed legislation will call on landlords to prevent these events from occurring or assess penalties to tenants for disturbances.

Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the victim, identified in published reports as Cameron Perrelli, a Connecticut native and Lower East Side resident who worked in finance.

Her uncle, Michael Perrelli, told the Daily News that the family received three versions of what led to her fall into an airshaft at around 3 a.m. 

"We got three stories — that she was jumping from one building to the next, and we heard that she was walking on an air-conditioning vent, and then somebody just said she slipped," he told the paper. "Don't they have a fence on top of the building? They allow parties?"

Said her father, Louis Perrelli: "It's not like her to be a risk-taker. She's not one to take those risks. I don't get it. She was perfect. ... She was always the designated driver, the good person, the peacemaker. She was an angel — that good."

The Daily Mail reports that Cameron Perrelli attempted to climb from the roof at 202 Avenue A to the roof next door at 200 Avenue A. A Daily Mail photographer accessed the roof yesterday morning, taking photos showing that 202 Avenue A is about four feet lower than the adjacent building at 200 Avenue A with a 3- to 4-foot airway in between.

As previously reported, workers added a horizontal and vertical enlargement of the existing 4-floor structure at 202 Avenue A, doubling the total square footage from 5,334 to 10,920. There are eight residences here at The Topanga. The penthouse units, featuring advertised rooftop access, are renting for $12,000 monthly, per Streeteasy.

Highpoint Property Group bought No. 202 in a deal that closed in late 2017 for $6.75 million. To date, Highpoint has not publicly responded to the tragedy despite requests from various media outlets, including The Daily Mail and People magazine.

In a complaint filed yesterday with the Department of Buildings, there's a "report of recreational use of the rooftop, contrary to the C of O [Certificate of Occupancy]."

It's not clear who filed the complaint. A DOB rep told ABC 7 yesterday that the department "was not requested to investigate the fatal fall and has not received any 311 calls related to illegal occupancy of the rooftop."

The DOB said in order for rooftops to be legally occupied as a recreational space, the building owners must obtain a Certificate of Occupancy for that use. They said 202 Avenue A does have a Certificate of Occupancy which includes an accessory roof terrace. The adjacent building, 200 Avenue A, does not have the certificate.

The most recent C of O we spotted online for 202 Avenue A was for the pre-renovated building and dated December 1992. (There appears to be a temporary C of O posted to the DOB Now portal.)

Also, according to 311 records, there have been 75 noise complaints at the address going back to December.

Records at Streeteasy show that the first penthouse at the renovated building — with a $12,000 ask — was rented in November 2020.

Image via Twitter

[Updated] Woman dies after falling from Avenue A rooftop; Rivera demands review of building enforcement procedures

According to several nearby residents, a woman attending a rooftop party at 202 Avenue A fell to her death early this morning. Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office confirmed the tragedy.

Rivera's office stated that it was "a dangerously overcrowded rooftop party" here between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Following the death, Rivera is calling on City Council to address tenant and landlord neglect of rooftop events, "as well as for an official review of the lack of agency enforcement by DOB, DEP, FDNY and NYPD of dangerous rooftop parties in Manhattan."

Earlier this week, East Village residents noted the ongoing disruptive rooftop parties at 330 E. Sixth St., prompting other reports of addresses holding similar events. 

According to a media advisory from Rivera's office late this afternoon:

[T]his event is just the latest in a string of documented and reported weekly parties that far exceed safe occupancy levels and often feature concert-level amplified sound on a series of East Village rooftops. Partygoers have even recently been reported to be jumping from rooftop to rooftop during these gatherings. 

Electeds have sent letters to City Hall and building managers, but agencies have failed to respond to these hazardous conditions. Community boards have followed up directly with the appropriate agencies but have received inadequate answers.

Rivera is working on two bills to address this issue — one introduced that would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes. Another that is planned to be introduced soon requires better oversight of rooftop use and capacity.

Tomorrow morning at 10, Rivera, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, reps from Community Board 3 and the local block association will gather outside 202 Avenue A to discuss the new bills. 

The NYPD continues to investigate last night's rooftop death. The victim's name has not yet been released. 

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Update: According to the Post, the woman was 24 and lived on Delancey. She was reportedly climbing from 202 Avenue A to 200 Avenue A  around 3:30 a.m. when she lost her footing and fell between the buildings.

Update 2: Published reports identified the woman as Cameron Perrelli, a Connecticut native who worked in finance in Manhattan. 

Cameron’s father Louis Perrelli said, "It's not like her to be a risk-taker. She's not one to take those risks. I don’t get it. We don’t really know a lot. We got three stories — that she was jumping from one building to the next, and we heard that she was walking on an air-conditioning vent, and then somebody just said she slipped. Don't they have a fence on top of the building? They allow parties?"

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As previously reported, workers added a horizontal and vertical enlargement of the existing 4-floor structure at 202 Avenue A, doubling the total square footage from 5,334 to 10,920. There are eight residences here at The Topanga. The penthouse units, featuring rooftop access, are renting for $12,000 monthly, per Streeteasy.

Highpoint Property Group bought No. 202 in a deal that closed in late 2017 for $6.75 million.