Section 24-182. Citizen's complaint

(a) Any person, other than personnel of
  the department and employees of the city of New York authorized  by  law
  to  serve  summonses  for  violations  of  the  code, may serve upon the
  department a complaint, in a form prescribed by the department, alleging
  that a person has violated any  provision  of  this  code  or  order  or
  regulation  promulgated  by  the  commissioner or the board, except with
  respect to sections 24-143, 24-150 and 24-163 of this  code,  but  still
  applicable  to  buses  as  defined  in  section  one hundred four of the
  vehicle and traffic law and trucks as defined  in  section  one  hundred
  fifty  eight  of  the vehicle and traffic law, together with evidence of
  such violation. With respect to section 24-142 of this code,  only  such
  person who has been certified as a smoke watcher, by passing a course of
  smoke observation approved by the department within three years prior to
  the observation, may serve such complaint.
    (b) A person who has served a complaint pursuant to subdivision (a) of
  this  section may serve upon the person allegedly in violation, and upon
  the board, a notice of violation in  a  form  prescribed  by  the  board
  within forty-five days from service of such complaint if;
    (1) The department has failed to serve a notice of violation, pursuant
  to section 24-180 of this code, for the violation alleged in a complaint
  pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section; or
    (2)   The  department  fails  to  serve  a  written  notice  upon  the
  complainant of its determination that his or her complaint is  frivolous
  or duplicitous.
    (c)  A  person  commencing a proceeding pursuant to this section shall
  prosecute such proceeding at his or her own expense. The department  may
  intervene in such a proceeding at any time.
    (d)  In  any  proceeding  brought  by the department after receiving a
  complaint, pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, pertaining to  a
  violation  of  this  code  or any regulation or order promulgated by the
  commissioner or the board, wherein the source  of  the  violation  is  a
  manufacturing or industrial facility or a facility for the generation of
  steam for off-premises sale or electricity or equipment used by any such
  facility,  the  board  shall  award the complainant, out of the proceeds
  collected, an amount which shall not exceed twenty-five percent of  such
  proceeds,  for  disclosure  of  information  or  evidence,  not  in  the
  possession of the department prior to the receipt of  the  complaint  by
  the department, which leads to the imposition of the civil penalty.
    (e) In any proceeding brought by a complainant pursuant to subdivision
  (a)  of  this  section,  the  board  shall  award,  out  of the proceeds
  collected, fifty percent of any civil penalty  as  fair  and  reasonable
  compensation to such person.