Alt 2 plan exam dissaproved, should the process be taking months?

Our plan examiner disapproved our application for an alt2 permit. It took a month for our architect to see the examiner to review his objections. All objections were dealt with except one. Now my architect is saying that it will be another month before the examiner can see him again to review this last hold up, is this normal? There isn’t a faster way?

cado

in Building Code 12 years ago

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rustydevon | 12 years ago

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Our Alt 1 took 5 months, but 4.5 of those 5 months we were waiting on Landmarks while we slowly checked of the list of almost 40 objections. In the end it was 4 months of waiting and professional billing that resulted in only one change: one door widened by 2″. The process would be laughable if it weren’t so painful.

transworld | 12 years ago

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Every project have two or three appointments needed. 1 month in between is pretty average.

sverkat | 12 years ago

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I have the exact same issue. Alt-2 filing, 7 out of 9 of the examiner’s comments were bogus (meaning – he did not read the submissions correctly), and yet we have to wait more than a month for the appointment. And it is likely that the architect will not be able to go through everything in 20 minutes, so then we will have to wait yet another 1.5 months. I keep wondering – is it possible to start without permits? With the DOB so understaffed, are they still going out to check complaints of people doing work without permits? What are the risks of getting caught today, where 1/3 of Brooklyn is renovating after Sandy anyway?

so_architecture | 12 years ago

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The problem is that the DOB only schedules 20 minute appointments. You can only get through a few items before the meeting is over.

shahnandersen

in Building Code 12 years ago

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My Alt 2 with self certification a 36 sq ft extension took more than 6 months. I hope you have better luck than me.

jockdeboeraia | 12 years ago

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Yes, Brooklyn is really taking a long time now a days. You are lucky for an appt within a month. Pro cert is not worth doing. DOB seems to be doing audits at the completion of the project now. If they have a problem, it is going to be hard to deal with at that time…

dazednconfused2 | 12 years ago

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I have one job right now where I’d kill to have an appointment made in a month. On a small Alt 2 one-floor extension, it took 5 weeks to receive the objections, all of which were completely bogus. We called immediately to get the next available appointment. 9 weeks! So that’s 14 weeks from submittal to the first time we can actually discuss the job with the examiner. Our only option is to call 311 every day and request a new appointment. The only problem is that we have to cancel our existing one first before they can even check for availability, so we run the risk, albeit quite small, of losing the one that we already have. Not only that, but the plan examiner didn’t mark up thje plans like they usually do. All I have is the list of objections, and I have to hope I answer them all correctly, otherwise it’ll be another appointment in another 9 weeks. Take the one month and be thankful.

msiaintleavinbk | 12 years ago

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Yes, this is normal when dealing with Buildings Department.

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Alt 2 plan exam dissaproved, should the process be taking months?

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