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Project Checklists for Owner:
Sidewalk Cafés

This section contains a list of questions/tasks to help Owners, who are responsible for hiring professionals to provide compliance with the Construction Codes and other regulations discussed in the Project Guidelines.

Checklists include:

Initial Project Checklist

DO

  • Pre-Project: Make sure you hire a Registered Design Professional, a Professional Engineer (P.E.) or Registered Architect (R.A.), to assure your project is Code-compliant.
  • Project Plans: Only a P.E. or R.A. can submit construction documents, including drawings and other submissions, to the Department for approval.
  • Asbestos Investigation: Have asbestos investigation performed on site to check for Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) that will be removed or disturbed.
  • Project Work: Hire a Licensed/Registered General Contractor to perform the work.  When hiring a professional, have a written contract that includes the Contractor’s company name, address and license number(s).
  • DOB: NOW Requirement: Owner must provide their email address to obtain for correspondence, inspections and final sign-off of the project.
  • Obtain DCA/DOT Approval and Permit: Sidewalk Cafés require prior approval and permit from the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT).  Ensure that you have obtained these prior to submitting the project application to the Department and prior to starting any work.
  • Commissioning: If your project requires commissioning, ensure you have a qualified commissioning agent perform the work and if required, file the commissioning report with the Department prior to sign-off.
  • Work Completion: Ensure inspections and sign-offs are performed to close the project permit

DON’T

  • Work Without a Permit: Do not begin work without a DOB permit. Property Owners and the people performing work without a permit may receive orders to stop on-site work, ECB violations with monetary and criminal penalties including court appearances, and civil penalties.

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Prior to Application Approval Checklist

  • Hire a Registered Design Professional (RDP), P.E. or R.A., to consult and finalize scope of work.
  • Provide consent of the project permit application, and authorize the P.E. or R.A. – who is the ‘Applicant of Record’ – to submit project Construction Documents for Department approval.
  • Other City agency license/approval – NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), NYC Department of City Planning (DCP), NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) – might be required prior to Department approval.
  • Project permit application approval is required prior to beginning work.

*Note: The Owner of the building/property is ultimately responsible for the project, and their signature/consent is required for submission of the project application by their design professional, and Department approval.*

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Pre-Permit & On-going Project Work Checklist

Pre-Permit

  • Licensed Contractor: Hire NYC Licensed/Registered Contractor to obtain work permit in order to begin work.
  • Special Inspections: If the scope of work requires, hire the required Special Inspection Agency for performing Special/Progress Inspections.
  • Notify the Department: Prior to pulling the permit, use the online notification process to provide the name(s) of the SIA(s) contracted to do the Special and/or Progress Inspections.

On-going

  • Site Safety: Property Owners and Contractors must maintain their properties in a safe condition during the course of work.

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Project Completion Close-out Checklist

  • Special Inspections: If the scope of work requires, the contracted Special Inspection Agency hired must complete and submit results online to the Department.
  • Department Inspections: Make sure the Contractor has completed all Department of Buildings inspections and has obtained sign-off of the completed work.
  • Final Inspection and Sign-off: Confirm that the Contractor has requested and passed a final sign-off inspection required by the Department.

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Project Checklists for Owner Links

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