On Monday, November 21, 2022, the DOB Brooklyn Borough Office will be permanently relocating from its current home at 210 Joralemon Street to our new offices on the third floor of 345 Adams Street, across the street from Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn. All agency phone numbers and contact information for the DOB Borough Office will remain the same.

In preparation for the move, some borough services will be temporarily unavailable in Brooklyn. Records requests for Brooklyn properties cannot be submitted from November 16 to November 17. In addition, there will be no in-person plan examination appointments available in Brooklyn from November 21 through November 23.

Read our Service Notice

The 2021 calendar year energy efficiency letter grades are available now on the DOB NOW Public Portal. These grades use benchmarking data to provide a snapshot of how much energy a building has used in a given year, compared to other buildings across the country of similar size and use.

Owners of buildings that appear on the 2022 NYC Benchmarking Covered Building List have until Monday, October 31, 2022 to print out their updated Building Energy Efficiency Rating Labels and post them in a conspicuous location near each public entrance to their buildings.

Owners are able to print their new labels through the Building Energy Efficiency Rating tab in the DOB NOW Public Portal.

Read our Service Notice

Info About Benchmarking & Energy Efficiency Ratings

Issuing a Stop Work Order on a construction site is never something DOB inspectors do on a whim.

These orders to immediately halt construction activity are issued to protect New Yorkers, whenever we find dangerous conditions on a work site that are posing a hazard to workers or the public. Our inspectors are trained to follow specific criteria when considering stopping the work at a site.

To give the industry better insight into why a Partial and Full Stop Work Order may be issued at a work site, we have published a new guidance document that is now available to the public.

Stop Work Order (SWO) Issuance Guide

Beginning Saturday, November 5, 2022, final inspection technical reports will no longer be required when removing sidewalk sheds, construction fences, supported scaffolds, and other types of temporary construction equipment.

Contractors who are removing these types of temporary equipment from a property will instead just need to submit a notification of removal to officially sign off the permit.

Read our Service Notice

The 2022 Construction Codes go into effect on Monday, November 7, 2022. 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.

Major upcoming changes include when a Construction Superintendent is required on a permitted work site, and which jobs now require new special inspections.

Read our Service Notice About New Site Safety Requirements

Read our Service Notice About New Construction Superintendent Requirements

2022 NYC Construction Codes

This week, DOB is commemorating the ten year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, one of the most devastating weather disasters in our City's history. In the aftermath of the storm, DOB inspectors, engineers and architects conducted damage assessments at thousands of properties across the City, taking necessary actions to protect the public from structurally compromised buildings.

Using the lessons learned in the aftermath of the storm, DOB has trained regularly on best-practices for effectively responding to large-scale disasters. DOB put this training to the test in Puerto Rico earlier this year when we sent a team to help recovery efforts after Hurricane Fiona. Earlier this month, more DOB staff were in Fort Totten, Queens, conducting full-scale emergency response training exercises with our partners at ConEd, National Grid and SEAoNY, to help prepare for any disaster that comes our way.

Watch NY1 Story About DOB Assisting Recovery Efforts After Hurricane Fiona

Read more about Disaster Response Training at Fort Totten

Finally, a reminder that Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day and Friday, November 11 is Veterans Day. All Department of Buildings Offices will be closed on these two recognized City holidays. In addition, Buildings After Hours will also be cancelled on Tuesday, November 8.

DOB encourages New Yorkers to do their civic duty and vote in this upcoming election. Early voting in NYC starts on Saturday, October 29, and continues through Sunday, November 6.

Find Out More Information About Voting in NYC