: 1131045788

They say that you can’t fight City Hall, but sometimes you can beat them at their own game.

Or so it appears for an official at a Queens condominium, who has evidently discovered a loophole that allows him to make tens of thousands of dollars by illegally posting enormous billboards on the sides of his building.

In early September, the Department of Buildings cited condo president John Galanis with several violations for posting two enormous lingerie advertisements on scaffolding constructed on the east and west sides of his building, which sits adjacent to the Long Island Expressway in Rego Park. According to the citation, Galanis could avoid any penalty by removing the billboards within 30 days of the infraction.

He did, taking down the signs only days before the Oct. 13 deadline to avoid any punitive action. But this week, another giant billboard for the upcoming Harry Potter movie appeared on the building’s western face.

DOB inspectors have already cited Galanis again for all the same violations as in the first instance—installing a sign without a permit, having a sign in a residential neighborhood, posting an illegally large sign, among others. Each violation carries a maximum penalty of $2,500, the same amount he potentially could have paid last month.

And also like last month, Galanis will receive another 30 days to “cure” the violation without consequences. Since he complied with the first citation, legally the second sign does not constitute a second violation, which usually carries stiffer penalties.

Under existing law, nothing prevents Galanis from repeating this behavior every month, according to DOB officials. Until new legislative measures are passed, the agency has no further direct legal recourse so long as the owner keeps complying with the citation, the officials said.

“We are certainly exploring every and any enforcement option in this case,” said DOB spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. “It’s a difficult case, but we’re looking into any way we can do this. Trust me, we are trying to figure out the best way to deal with it.”

For one, DOB inspectors have shut down other construction projects at the site until the billboard is removed. Permits have been issued for exterior façade work, according to DOB records.

The DOB has worked with the City Council in the past to create tougher restrictions on billboards, but the two have not been in contact about the issue recently, Givner said.

“We’ve been wiling to work with the Council to increase enforcement in this area,” Givner said. “We don’t want to see repeat offenders. We are definitely going to explore other enforcement options.”

A bill passed in April updated codes for sanctioned outdoor advertising companies, but that legislation had little effect on independent property owners. Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), who sponsored that bill, said legislators have been kicking around ideas about further regulating billboards, but nothing formal has yet to materialize.

“At best [these billboards] are extremely tasteless, and at worst, a dangerous distraction to motorists,” Liu said. “What’s difficult about it is balancing the freedom of speech, freedom of expression issues with the need of having some kind of decorum in our city.”