# SinoConnection 华人通

> SinoConnection (华人通) is a Chinese-American community site run by a neighborhood phone and tech store at 82-72 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens, New York (open since 2001). It publishes free New York City tools in Chinese and English, and sells travel eSIMs.

Not affiliated with any New York City government agency. Everything on the NYC pages is general information, not legal or engineering advice.

## NYC building violations (free, no sign-up)

- [NYC Building Violation Search (English)](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/violations): look up any NYC building's Department of Buildings (DOB) violations, ECB/OATH summonses, HPD housing violations, complaints, Stop Work Order summonses, boiler/elevator/facade filings, HPD registration status and HPD emergency repair charges from an address. Data from NYC Open Data, linked to the City's own records.
- [纽约房屋违规查询（中文）](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/violations): the same tool in Chinese.
- [Violation types, explained](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/violation-types): Certificate of Correction, Class 1 Immediately Hazardous, Work Without a Permit, Stop Work Order, illegal conversion, OATH/ECB summons, HPD Class A/B/C, complaints, boiler, elevator and facade (FISP) — each with its nyc.gov source. Chinese: [违规类型速查](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/violation-types)
- [Guides](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/guides): what did I receive; what happens if I ignore it; deadlines (cure date vs correction deadline); paying the fine does not close the violation. Chinese: [中文指南](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/guides)

Key facts, as stated by the City and checked on the pages above:
- Paying an ECB/OATH penalty does not close a DOB violation. It stays open until DOB accepts a Certificate of Correction, now filed through DOB NOW: Safety; the AEU2, AEU20 and AEU3321 forms are no longer required.
- Class 1 (Immediately Hazardous) violations must be corrected immediately; Class 2 and 3 within 40 days. A cure date, where offered, is printed on the individual summons.
- After a missed OATH hearing, a request for a new hearing received within 75 days of the missed date is granted.

## Look up a NYC building from an AI assistant

Three ways to the same lookup (same data, same limits, never returns owner names or contact details):

1. **Open a page** (any assistant that can browse): https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/lookup?address=HOUSE+NUMBER+STREET,+BOROUGH — for example https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/lookup?address=350+5th+Ave,+Manhattan . If several buildings match, the page lists them; follow the one the user means (`?bin=…&bbl=…`). Add `&records=ecb`, `dobViolations`, `complaints` or `hpd` for the individual records. Plain HTML, no JavaScript needed.
2. **Call the API** (Custom GPT Actions, agent platforms): OpenAPI 3.1 description at https://mcp.sinoconnection.com/nyc/openapi.json — GET /nyc/api/find, /nyc/api/report, /nyc/api/records, /nyc/api/topics. No key.
3. **Connect over MCP** (Claude, ChatGPT connectors): https://mcp.sinoconnection.com/nyc/mcp — Streamable HTTP, no authentication. Tools: find_nyc_building, get_nyc_building_violations, list_nyc_violation_records, explain_nyc_violation_topic.

Rules for presenting results: an unreadable source is UNAVAILABLE (unknown), never zero; never pick between buildings for the user; do not invent penalties, deadlines or procedures; keep official English terms beside any translation. Setup instructions: [English](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/en/ai-assistant) · [中文](https://www.sinoconnection.com/nyc/ai-assistant)

## Travel eSIM

- [Travel eSIM store](https://www.sinoconnection.com/esim): data eSIMs for 200+ countries, including China plans that work without a VPN.
- Travel eSIM connector for AI assistants: https://mcp.sinoconnection.com/mcp — read-only plan search, plan details, device compatibility and help.

## Policies

- [Privacy policy](https://www.sinoconnection.com/privacy)
- [Terms](https://www.sinoconnection.com/terms)