Loft Board Folded Into DOB

NEW YORK CITY-The city’s Loft Board, which oversees the conversion of loft buildings from commercial to residential use, has been folded into the Department of Buildings, the Bloomberg administration announced on Friday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the change via an executive order.

The transfer is intended to streamline communication among code enforcement agencies, including the Fire Department and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and to facilitate compliance with the law by the remaining 300 buildings under the Loft Board’s jurisdiction, according to a release. Bloomberg says in a statement that the order “provides the board with more resources to ensure the remaining properties that do not meet code standards are renovated to meet those standards.”