Buildings news update

October 7, 2021

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Code Revision Gets Green Light From City Council

Earlier today, the New York City Council voted to approve proposed major updates to the New York City Construction Codes. This comprehensive revision to the Codes contains over 600 major updates, and thousands of smaller changes, intended to improve safety for our fellow New Yorkers, and incorporate the latest in building materials, technologies and strategies for increased resiliency.

"These updated Codes provide a solid foundation on which the future of our city will be built," said Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca about the vote. "I want to thank my colleagues at DOB, along with the hundreds of government and industry experts that volunteered their time on our Code Revision Committees, who worked tirelessly to advance these Codes."

The code revisions approved today are the first holistic update to the entire set of NYC Administrative, Plumbing, Building, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes since 2014. The revisions were drafted by technical committees comprised of engineers, architects, attorneys, planners, tradespeople, representatives of the construction industry, labor, real estate industry, utility companies, as well as DOB and interagency stakeholders.

Read our press release to see what industry and government experts are saying about the new Codes.

New Home For Manhattan Borough Office Services


Beginning tomorrow, October 8th, many of the window and drop-off services at the DOB Manhattan Borough Office will be moving to their new home at our Customer Service Atrium located on the first floor of DOB's headquarters building at 280 Broadway, in Lower Manhattan.

Certain services at the Manhattan Borough Office will remain on the 3rd floor of 280 Broadway, Manhattan, including the Manhattan Records Room, the Manhattan Plan Examination Unit, and the Manhattan Borough Commissioner's Office.

The Department of Buildings' offices are open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for in-person and drop off transactions.

Read our Service Notice for more information about the move.

More Transparency For Online Facade Filings


Beginning tomorrow, October 8th, supporting documents that are submitted with an accepted Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) compliance filing in DOB NOW: Safety will be publicly accessible in the DOB NOW Public Portal. These supporting documents that will now be available on the portal include photographs, plot plans, technical reports and other forms.

This update is in keeping with our ongoing efforts to add new improvements and functionalities to the DOB NOW online system, bringing new levels of transparency to the public.

Read our Service Notice for more information about the upcoming change.

Apply to Our Innovation Competition


Even as we celebrate the passage of a comprehensive update to the NYC Construction Codes, we know that the goal of moving towards an even safer, more sustainable, and more innovative city continues. That is why we are asking industry professionals and the public to "Hack The Building Code" by letting us know their best ideas on ways we can improve how we can design, construct and maintain our city of over 1.1 million buildings.

If you have a system, product, technology or idea on how to improve our city's built environment, we want to hear about it.

Apply Today

The deadline to submit your application for the DOB "Hack the Building Code" Innovation Challenge is November 3rd, 2021.

Reduce Your OATH/ECB Judgments With FAIRER Program


New Yorkers! The City wants to help you take care of unpaid OATH/ECB judgments.

If you still owe OATH/ECB judgments related to resolved DOB-issued violations, you may be able to reduce those fines by up to 75% through the NYC Department of Finance's FAIRER (Fine and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery) Program.

Running through December 20, 2021, this program allows you to pay a reduced amount for eligible Environmental Control Board judgments, if the violations are certified as corrected with DOB.

The FAIRER Program is open to any individual or business named on a city-issued OATH/ECB violation. For questions about a DOB-issued violation, contact the Department's Administrative Enforcement Unit at (212) 393-2405 or online.

Melanie E. La Rocca Commissioner

www.nyc.gov/buildings

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