NYC billed itself for 161 summonses at cultural institutions since 2023

New York City agencies issued 161 summonses for fire, building, environmental, health and sanitation violations at the city’s cultural institutions from January 2023 through August 2026, naming the Department of Cultural Affairs as responsible, records show.

Among those, the city imposed $38,730 in penalties, collected $180, and wrote off 143 summonses. Most of them, 123 of the 161, were for a single violation—failing to prevent a fire alarm from sounding when there was no fire.

The summonses data comes from the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the tribunal that decides the cases. Gothamist first reported the city’s practice of effectively fining itself after analyzing FDNY summonses.

Urgent Matter obtained the underlying OATH case status data and analyzed all summonses issued by city agencies, producing a broader picture of penalties, write-offs and collections.