Buildings News - January 2019

Buildings news

January 2019

service notices

forms

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codes

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Commissioner Chandler Retires

Rick D. Chandler, PE, Commissioner of the New York City Department of
Buildings, is retiring from city service. The Commissioner served 31
years with the City, including nearly 20 with the Department, four of
which were as Commissioner.

Commissioner Chandler led a sweeping
modernization effort touching every part of the Buildings Department,
including the launch of DOB NOW, which will allow New Yorkers to do all business with DOB more than 230 new inspectors and 150 technical staff, resulting in significantly faster permit reviews and inspections of construction

sites and 311 complaints; and regulating the city's real estate and construction industries during the largest
building boom in at least 50 years.

Thomas Fariello, RA, the agency's First Deputy Commissioner, will serve
as Acting Buildings Commissioner, effective February 1, 2019.

Read more in the

Mayor�s announcement.

DOB Permit Data Shows NYC Construction Has Leveled Off After Historic
Boom

DOB recently released a report on construction in New York City
in 2018. The results are included in the agency's NYC Construction
Dashboard, a data-rich interactive website with information on
construction and real estate development in every neighborhood in the
city.

Click here to see DOB�s dashboard.

The report shows that construction activity has leveled off
following New York's historic real estate and development boom. DOB
issued a total of 165,988 construction permits in 2018, down from
168,243 in 2017, the first decline in total permits issued
year-over-year since 2009. However, there is still an extraordinarily
high level of construction activity in neighborhoods around the city -
indeed, 2018�s permit totals are the second-highest on record.

See our press release for additional insights.

The 2018 dashboard was built by DOB's data analytics team - a key part of the
agency's Building
One City modernization plan. The team has created a number of interactive real time reports,
including the NYC
Active Major Construction Map, NYC
Sidewalk Shed Map, and
more.

New Construction Safety Units

The BEST Squad, Excavation/Interior Demolition, and Scaffold Safety
Units have been reorganized into two new units: the Construction Safety
Enforcement Unit and the Construction Safety Compliance Unit. Both units
work to significantly increase safety compliance monitoring at
construction sites throughout the city, including the requirements of
Local Law 196 of 2017.

Construction Safety Compliance Unit

The Construction Safety Compliance (CSC) Unit performs proactive
periodic inspections on all active sites, as well as plan examination of
site safety plans and full demolition plans, processing site
safety-related waiver requests, scaffold safety inspections and
interior-and full-demolition inspections.

Construction Safety Enforcement Unit

The Construction Safety Enforcement (CSE) Unit conducts emergency
inspections and responds to construction incidents and accidents in
addition to inspecting construction-related complaints, violations, and
Stop Work Orders, including those issued by the CSC Unit. The unit also performs
technical reviews and audits of construction documents to verify code
compliance.

As a result of the reorganization, effective February 11, 2019, all
BEST Squad forms have been replaced with new Construction Safety
Compliance (CSC) forms. In addition, applicants are required to use
the CSC Appointment Request Form for pre-demolition inspection,
demolition sign-off, Site Safety Manager and Site Safety Coordinator
Program removal, sidewalk shed removal, and suspended scaffold pre-use
inspection. Information on the new forms can be found in our

Industry Notice. New and replacement forms can be accessed
here.

Reminder: New Crane Safety Regulations in Effect

As of January 1, 2019, two new important crane-safety regulations are now
in effect:

Crane Age Limitation
Only cranes having an age of less than 25 years from the manufacture
date may be used in New York City, pursuant to Local Law 3 of 2018.

Event Recorder Required for Cranes

No crane shall be issued or have renewed a certificate of operation
unless the crane is equipped with an event recorder, pursuant to Local
Law 79 of 2017. The event recorder must be installed to collect: the
crane configuration, overload conditions, the status of limit switches,
and operator overrides.

See the service notices
linked above for more information on the new requirements.

Notification of Unsafe
Buildings

Building owners and registered design professionals must
alert the Department to unsafe conditions related to buildings or
structures, such as structural instability, open roofs, partial
collapses, or abandoned properties, by submitting the
Structurally Compromised Building Program Notification of Unsafe Conditions form. Once
the form is submitted, per Article 217 of the 2014 Building Code, a TR15
and accompanying inspection report are required to be submitted to the
Department. The TR15 can be found on the

forms page of DOB's website.

For any hazardous conditions please first call 311 or 911.

Volunteer to
Serve on a DOB Licensing Board

The Department is currently seeking electrical and plumbing experts to serve
on the 2019 Master Plumbers & Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractors
License Board, the 2019 Master and Special Electrician License Board,
and the Plumbing Operations Committees. The application deadline is February 8, 2019.

See the
Service Notice for more information on requirements and links to the applications.

Major
Disciplinary Cases

$106,000 in penalties issued to Nelson
A. Gonzalez, owner of 50-16 96th Street, Queens, for the illegal
conversion of a legal two-family home to nine SROs with locking
devices for transient use.

$52,500 in penalties issued to Safety
Registrant King Demolition Services for various site-safety related
violations on a construction site at 2365 Hoffman Street in the
Bronx, including lacking a required construction fence, failure to
implement proper housekeeping, failure to protect neighboring
properties from construction operations, and failure to safeguard
the site.

$20,000 in penalties issued to Patrick
Breen and Nick's Towing Service, Inc. for several violations related
to the illegal use of a tow truck as a crane on a construction site
at 2670 Hyland Boulevard, Staten Island.

$11,875 in penalties issued to S Maor,
LLC, owner of 2 Bay 25th Street, Brooklyn, after DOB discovered that
the second floor office in the building had been illegally converted
into a spa and massage parlor.

DOB publishes monthly bulletins detailing
the agency's efforts to sanction and deter bad actors in the
construction industry. You can find this information posted on the

Enforcement Action Bulletin page of our website.

Additional Disciplinary Actions & Voluntary Surrenders

Industry Code of Conduct for Construction
Professionals

Sign up for Weather Advisories

Follow DOB on

Facebook and

Twitter

Service Updates

Follow-up #1: HPD Pilot Program Update

2018 Benchmarking Compliance Deadline Extended

NYC Loft Board Relocates

2014 Construction Code Updates

Update Page # 68 reflects changes made by
Local Law 79 of 2017 (effective 01/01/2019), in relation to maintaining crane
event records.

Update Page # 69 reflects changes made by
Local Law 3 of 2018 (effective 01/01/2019), in relation to crane modernization.

Update Page # 70 reflects changes made by
Local Law 65 of 2018 (effective
1/19/2019), in relation to notification of proposed soil or
foundation work.

Update pages are printable
inserts to keep your hard copy Construction Codes up to date.

All

update pages for the 2014 NYC Construction Codes.

Local Law 195 of 2018 (Int. No. 836-A) A Local Law to amend the
Administrative Code of the City of New York, the New York City Building
Code, the New York City Mechanical Code and the New York City Fire Code,
in relation to approval processes for alternative automatic fire
extinguishing systems, fire alarm systems, emergency alarm systems, fire
department in-building auxiliary radio communication systems and fire
protection plans.

Local Law 191 of 2018 (Int. No. 644-A) A Local Law to amend the
Administrative Code of the City of New York and the New York City
Building Code, in relation to requiring carbon monoxide detectors in
commercial spaces.

Local Law 190 of 2018 (Int. No. 465-A)
A Local Law to amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York, in
relation conducting education and outreach regarding single-occupant
toilet room requirements.

Hearings +
Rules

1 RCNY 102-04 Increased Penalties for Unpermitted Work (Civil Penalties for Work Without a Permit and for
Violation of Stop Work Orders Amendment)

Promulgated Effective Date 02/15/19

1 RNCY 104-12 Qualifications for Performing Gas Work
Public Hearing: 02/14/19 @10:00 AM, Spector Hall, 22 Reade Street, 1st
Floor

All Department Rules

Buildings
Bulletins

2019-001: Establishes the design requirements of refuse and recyclable storage
rooms and provides an acceptable alternative design option.

2019-002: Establishes filing and submittal requirements, and outlines the approval process for
lithium-ion, flow batteries, lead acid, and valve regulated lead-acid
battery energy storage systems listed to UL 9540.

All Buildings Bulletins

Website
Updates

Housing Maintenance Code

Refund Request Instructions

December 2018 Construction Related Accidents Report

List of Approved Fabricators

Place of Assembly Step-By-Step Guide

CD6 Crane/Derrick & Work Platform Plumbness & Torque Notification/Anchor Bolt Pull Out Test

PW1 User Guide

Office of Internal Affairs and Discipline

Types of DOB Violations

Media Coverage

D14 Frequently Asked Questions

DOB NOW: Build Withdrawal Letter

Holidays and Closings

Cranes & Derricks Unit 2019 Holiday and Weekend Inspection Schedule

Benchmarking Compliance

Licensing

Department Approved Course Providers

DOB NOW: Licensing

Registration Renewal: Concrete Safety Manager

LIC41 Written Examination Application

LIC42 Practical Examination Application

Obtain a: NYC Welder License

License Renewal: Welder

Obtain a: Journeyman Plumber / Fire Suppression Piping Installer Registration Gas Work Qualification

Offer Site Safety Training Courses

Did You Know?

The NYC Department of City
Planning is partnering with Advocates for Privately Owned Public Spaces
and the Municipal Arts Society of New York for an international design
competition for a new logo to be displayed on NYC's 500+ plazas,
arcades, and other Privately Owned Public Spaces. Check out their press release for
more information.

Rick D.
Chandler, P.E., Commissioner

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