C of O Change in Loft
Does anyone know what’s involved with changing the occupancy usage from work to live work? Can anyone recommend an attorney with specific knowledge to this sort of thing? Thanks!
Does anyone know what’s involved with changing the occupancy usage from work to live work? Can anyone recommend an attorney with specific knowledge to this sort of thing? Thanks!
Modsquad – i think you’re confusing 7C interim multiple dwellings with JLQW – Joint living work quarters for artists.
JLQW is indeed a valid CO type of occupancy, and is valid in perpetuity once the CO is issued and presuming the CO is not altered and/or the building is not demolished.
IMDs were for protected tenants (in SOHO most famously, but all over the city including brooklyn)who were living in manufacturing Loft buildings. These IMDs were required to be legalized as residential units many years ago (but many are still not legalized – hence the continued existence of the NYC Loft Board).
However, as pointed out above, JLQWs are only permitted in certain districts, and you need to be (or the tenant needs to be) a Cultural Affairs registered ‘artist.’ This last requirement can be easily sidestepped (as long as no one is living in the space at the time of CO you are only required to submit an affadavit saying that it will be used by registered artists) and has therefore been traditionally abused by nefarious landlords and individual owners alike.
I live in Dumbo and although I make some money off of “art” I am not certified and am not required to do so to live here. Soho had that requirement but it has mostly been overlooked lately.
I don’t think there is an actual “live/work C of O. That designation went with city certified artists in certain districts like Soho but was a work around that permitted artists to stay in spaces with the understanding that the whole loft would be residentially upgraded over a certain time.
I don’t know if it is technically a change of C of O. People use the term C of O very loosely. You would be applying for a certification of legal occupancy of your unit pursuant to a use waiver obtained for the entire building. In historic districts this change of use is available through special sections of the NYC zoning code (section 74-711 to be technical). It is no easy matter.
Your building will definitely need an architect and a lawyer.
It is certainly possible to change the CO for one unit in the building!
A live/work certificate for a certified artist can be tricky to obtain. You have to be within certain zoned areas and you need to make most of your living from the art.
I would call the DUMBO Neighborhood Association and ask them if anyone does the work in the neighborhood. I know land use attorneys in Manhattan but they are incredibly expensive.
You want joint living work quarter for Artists, I assume?
First, talk to an architect. They’ll usually do enough of a zoning analysis for free to tell you whether this is possible.
(Are you in an M1-5B or M1-5A district?….You could also have a residential loft if the building is old enough and in the right commercial or manufacturing districts…)
Long story short – Its very easy for an architect to tell you whether you can convert or not, given the proper information. They’ll probably do it for free in order to get the conversion job (assuming you are able to convert).
The only reason to involve a lawyer is if you are asking for a variance. Given BSA’s current disposition – I wouldn’t hold my breath…
It is impossible to change the CofO for one unit in a building.
Do you mean by live/work a loft that somehow doesn’t have to come up to the residential code?