Andrew Cominelli

Wreckage Cleared, but Zoning Questions Surround Collapsed Billboard

The debris from Friday’s billboard collapse on Meeker Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway has been cleared, but questions about the sign’s placement remain. Although there were no reported injuries, the incident dredged up concerns about the city’s regulation of advertising in public space, due to the billboard’s illegal placement within 200 feet of the BQE.

“[The] collapse of an illegal billboard on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway highlights the need for increased enforcement of outdoor advertising regulations in New York City,” said Councilmember Stephen Levin, who represents the area where the collapse took place. “Advertisers have a responsibility to the public to adhere to the zoning and building code regulations that currently exist to keep New Yorkers safe.”

Inspectors and engineers from the Department of Buildings “have been working to ensure that the parts of the billboard are removed safely” said Tony Sclafani, chief spokesman for the Department of Buildings (DOB). The billboard caused the partial collapse of a building, and a gas leak. It also stalled traffic on the BQE, which was not cleared of debris until 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

The 20-by-60-foot billboard, which displayed advertisements for Dunkin Donuts and the New York Lottery, went down without warning, in high-speed winds. DOB engineers believe the collapse occurred when a giant bolt affixing the signpost to its base was dislodged. The structure, which stood atop a carwash at 421 Meeker Avenue, fell onto the building, damaging its brick exterior, and leaned against the rail of the BQE above. The billboard’s 80-foot signpost lay across the carwash’s roof until DOB workers removed it Wednesday morning. DOB inspectors are still assessing the damages sustained by the building.

The billboard was in violation of a zoning rule that restricts erecting commercial billboards within 200 feet of a major highway or parkway. This statute, in place since the 1940s, was upheld by a federal judge in 2010. The city, however, has struggled to enforce these restrictions and many billboards throughout the city are thought to be out of code.

The DOB is in the process of issuing an Environmental Control Board (ECB) violation to Mohammad Malik, owner of the collapsed billboard, for “failing to maintain the structure in a safe and lawful manner,” Sclafani said. Malik is the president of Mogul Media, a company that owns and rents out billboards all over Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx—many of which stand alongside the BQE and other major highways. The ECB violation carries a minimum penalty of $10,000.

Malik and Mogul Media will also receive ECB violations for both the New York Lottery and Dunkin Donuts advertisements on the billboard. The Dunkin Donuts sign was deemed unlawful because it was being used for commercial purposes. Though the New York Lottery sign was considered non-commercial, it was not registered as such, and is therefore subject to the same penalty.

Friday’s billboard collapse has spurred the city to engage in a more vigilant investigation of similar structures. Sclafani said that DOB engineers will soon begin inspecting other signs along the city’s arterial roadways.

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