{"id":769668,"date":"2026-05-03T04:22:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T04:22:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769668\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T04:22:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T04:22:34","slug":"ex-con-inspector-conducted-fake-asbestos-inspection-to-speed-up-bensonhurst-homeless-shelter-plan-nyc-pol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769668\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-con inspector conducted fake asbestos inspection to speed up Bensonhurst homeless shelter plan: NYC pol"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shady asbestos inspector who served prison time for conning a famed jazz great<\/a> out of $500,000 allegedly never even showed up to the site of a highly contested Brooklyn homeless shelter<\/a> being pushed by the Mamdani administration before greenlighting the project for construction.<\/p>\n

Noel Muir claimed he inspected the site of the planned 150-bed men\u2019s shelter in Bensonhurst in April 2025, before proclaiming it asbestos-free, city records show.<\/p>\n

The approval briefly paved the way for construction to begin on the shelter, which has been marred by delays for more than two-and-a-half years and sparked near-daily protests \u2014 including one resulting in a local councilwoman being arrested for allegedly biting a cop.<\/p>\n

But 16 residents and business leaders insist in court papers that Muir lied about inspecting the site, which is set to open in late 2027.<\/p>\n

Noel Muir, an asbestos inspector who served prison time for stealing nearly $500,000 from a famed jazz musician, has become enmeshed in the Mamdani administration\u2019s efforts to move ahead with a highly contested homeless shelter. R Umar Abbasi<\/p>\n

They were outside the one-story, former medical building at the corner of 25th Avenue and 86th Street at the same time Muir said he conducted the inspection \u2014 from 9:30 am to noon on April 4, 2025 \u2014 and \u201cdid not observe\u201d anyone entering or exiting the building, affidavits filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court and reviewed by The Post claimed.<\/p>\n

The city is also investigating whether Muir conducted the inspection with a suspended license.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur community is demanding an investigation into procedural irregularities and fraudulent behavior in the examination of the property at 2501 86th Street, Brooklyn, NY for asbestos,\u201d Councilwoman Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn) wrote in an April 15 letter to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Garcia.<\/p>\n

Muir lied about the asbestos testing to the city Buildings Department in a bid to speed up the project \u2014 putting the community at risk for airborne contamination, Zhuang and other critics alleged.<\/p>\n

Zhuang also noted Muir\u2019s shady background, which includes him pleading guilty in 2016 in Brooklyn Supreme Court to\u00a0swindling Cecil Taylor,<\/a>\u00a0a famed pianist and composer who died two years later at the age of 89. Muir was sentenced to one to three years in prison.<\/p>\n

The proposed 150-bed men\u2019s shelter in Bensonhurst has faced many delays since ex-Mayor Eric Adams announced the project in November 2023. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Various stop-work orders surround the construction site at 2501 86th Street Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Muir, 66, of Long Island, was also previously fined $7,200 for violating city asbestos-safety laws by declaring another building asbestos-free when it wasn\u2019t, the councilwoman noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unacceptable for any work to proceed without a proper asbestos inspection having been completed by a reputable inspector,\u201d wrote Zhuang.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, in light of the evidence and repeated infractions, Mr. Muir should be investigated for additional fraudulent activity and stripped of his license so that no future properties run the risk of creating devastating health impacts on residents,\u201d added Zhuang, who was arrested during a July 2024 protest at the site for allegedly\u00a0biting a deputy NYPD chief during a scream-filled clash with cops.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The charges against Zhuang were later dropped.<\/p>\n

It is unacceptable for any work to proceed without a proper asbestos inspection having been completed by a reputable inspector,\u201d said NYC Councilwoman Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn). LP Media<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave the go-ahead for construction in late March as part of his plan to increase shelter space citywide, but the DEP visited the site on April 9 at the request of community members and issued a stop work order after determining a proper asbestos inspection was never done.<\/p>\n

The 86th\u00a0Street Community Alliance \u2013 a neighborhood group of predominantly Asian-Americans who have protested by banging drums outside the shelter site since ex-Mayor Eric Adams announced the project in November 2023 \u2013 is demanding a \u201cthird-party\u201d inspect the site for asbestos. The group says it will pay for the work.<\/p>\n

Muir \u2014 a certified asbestos inspector since 1995 whose license to work in NYC is currently suspended \u2014 could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

The DEP said it tested the site\u2019s roofing on April 10 \u201cout of an abundance of caution\u201d and found \u201cno presence of asbestos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neighborhood groups of predominately Asian-Americans protested by banging drums outside the shelter site almost daily for more than two years. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n

Its inspectors have visited the site multiple other times over the past two years and never spotted any \u201cdisturbed asbestos,\u201d said agency spokesperson Neja Stewart, without clarifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take the safety of the community seriously, and in the case that asbestos is detected in the areas proposed to be disturbed, the developer will be required to perform remediation,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n

Muir\u2019s asbestos inspection license was first suspended by the city in 2024 because officials had questions about his record keeping. His re-applied for certification after his suspension was lifted but wasn\u2019t approved by the DEP until May 9, 2025 \u2014 over a month after he conducted his inspection at the Bensonhurst site.<\/p>\n

The DEP said it suspended his license again on March 4 after fielding complaints that he was conducting inspections without approval.<\/p>\n

He is slated to have a hearing May 6 where his license could be revoked. <\/p>\n

The stop work order will remain in place at the site until a certified asbestos investigator completes their review, according to the DEP.<\/p>\n

The agency said it is in contact with the project\u2019s developer, the Sandhu Group, which agreed to use a different company for the asbestos inspection in light of Muir\u2019s legal woes.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A shady asbestos inspector who served prison time for conning a famed jazz great out of $500,000 allegedly…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":769669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,11307,17934,5309,1121,5310,20528,32459,10607,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969,5301],"class_list":["post-769668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-arrests","tag-asbestos","tag-bensonhurst","tag-brooklyn","tag-city-council","tag-department-of-environmental-protection","tag-homeless-shelters","tag-jazz","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-usa","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116508737355878077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}