Appeal from judgments of the Justice Court of the Village of Tuckahoe, Westchester County (Michael P. O'Toole, J.), entered May 31, 2005. The judgments convicted defendants, after a nonjury trial, of violating sections 6-8 (b) and 6-37 of the Tuckahoe Village Code.

Judgments convicting defendants of violating Tuckahoe Village Code sections 6-8 (b) and 6-37 reversed on the law, accusatory instruments dismissed and fines, if paid, remitted.

Defendants were charged with violating section 6-37 of the Tuckahoe Village Code in that they permitted a contractor to remove the shingles from the roof of their premises in order to replace same, without first obtaining a building permit. In a separate accusatory instrument, defendants were also charged with violating section 6-8 (b) of said Code in that they removed a stop work order notice posted on their garage which stated thereon "Do Not Remove."

Section 6-37 of the Tuckahoe Village Code requires the homeowner or contractor to obtain a building permit for any home improvement prior to commencing work. An exception exists for ordinary repairs, not structural in nature. Although replacement of the shingles on a roof is not merely an aesthetic undertaking, it is also not a structural alteration and should be regarded as an ordinary repair. Since the Code does not require a building permit for ordinary repairs, the judgment convicting defendants of violating section 6-37 should be reversed and the accusatory instrument charging a violation of same dismissed. As to the removal of the stop work order, since a building permit was not required, the stop work order was ineffective and its removal cannot be a valid basis for conviction.

Rudolph, P.J., Angiolillo and McCabe, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: March 1, 2006