A Bronx landlord is facing criminal charges after prosecutors say he demolished walls and ceilings inside an occupied residential building while a tenant and eight children were still living there, News 12 reported. The case has drawn attention to the safety of the family caught up in the work.
Prosecutors identified the landlord as 31-year-old Joel Grunbaum, who was arraigned on charges of filing a false permit. The charge stems from the paperwork that allowed the demolition work to move forward at the building in the first place.
According to prosecutors, Grunbaum claimed that the building was vacant at the time permission for the work was sought. In reality, investigators say, a family was still living inside the property as the demolition was being carried out.
As the demolition continued, investigators say the building was left structurally unsafe. The removal of walls and ceilings in a structure that was still occupied created the potential for a far more serious outcome for the people who remained inside.
Despite the hazardous conditions described by prosecutors, no one was injured in the incident. The tenant and the eight children who were inside the building avoided physical harm even as the work compromised the structure around them.
Grunbaum was arraigned on the charge on Wednesday and is due back in court in August. The case is expected to continue as prosecutors pursue the false-permit charge against the landlord over the demolition of the occupied building.