Do I need an Expeditor for Stoop and Hardscaping?

We are getting quotes to have our stoop and bluestone restored in front of our brownstone in a historic district. Only one of the contractors offer the permit service. Makes sense that the cheaper guys say we have to do it. I did a little research on LPC and am already confused what category box to check. Am I crazy to try and do this without an Expeditor? Just spent a fortune on one for the interior renovations we made. Also, do I need a permit for the LANDSCAPING. Does LPC care what I plant?

laurenpacker123

in Exteriors 6 years and 10 months ago

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NeoGrec | 6 years and 5 months ago

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LPC is MUCH easier to deal with than DOB. You likely only need a certificate of appropriateness not a public hearing approval. Many applications are submitted by homeowners. I had no difficulty getting a complete facade redo approved because I loved my mason but knew he was hopeless with paperwork . But generally I agree that any reputable contractor should be able to handle this for you.

mh | 6 years and 5 months ago

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Definitely use a contractor who will handle the landmark permitting; it will be more expensive and complicated to obtain this from a separate source. You need a permit for the hardscaping, and for items like garbage sheds, or anything attached to the house or stoop. You definitely don’t need a permit for the plants 🙂

Guest User | 6 years and 5 months ago

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If the DOB was working well and without corruption and the architects knew their work we would not need all these corrupt middle men. The system is completely broken.

resident2 | 6 years and 10 months ago

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To save yourself a lot of stress, time wasting and money; only use a contractor that gets your landmarks permits & deals with them on a regular basis.
Any contractor that does not and expects you to deal with them, will take your money and not finish! What seems like a cheaper contractor at the start, certainly will not as you get into it.
As for landscaping; if you are changing any masonry; pavers, concrete, bluestone slabs etc. you will need landmarks approval; they do not care if you plant sunflowers or geraniums.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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oh, and no you don’t need LPC permission for the planting 🙂

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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I’m just finishing up the exterior renovation of our brownstone (re-brownstoning, ironwork, bluestone front yard) and took on the LPC permits for the ironwork portion only, as this was just stripping and repainting so I thought I could handle it (which I could, but it was a pain in the ass). The bluestone and brownstone requirements are both very technical and I definitely could not have done that myself. I would think that any reputable company with enough landmarking experience for you to feel comfortable hiring them should offer the permitting service, and I’d be wary of anyone unwilling to do it. (There are a lot of really terrible brownstone people out there.) FWIW I’d highly recommend both the companies we used: WP Bluestone for our front yard (who charge $500 for drawings, photos and form submission, which I consider good value, especially as it’s a very low % of the cost of the job itself); and Excellent Contracting for the brownstone work, who are just a phenomenally nice, professional and competent bunch. Couldn’t recommend them more strongly! Hope that’s helpful.