Permit delays?

oh, and in response to the comment about only certain architects can self-certify, all can until there is a disciplinary action against them revoking that ability. That’s pretty rare, but there have been some rather notorious cases, like adding floors or otherwise flaunting zoning or code regulations.

jimhillra

in General Discussion 3 years and 10 months ago

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InBklyn76 | 3 years and 11 months ago

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Hi All – I am trying to better understand the landscape for permit timing. I am doing a gut renovation on a townhouse so I know the process is cumbersome and apt for delays. I understand that the DOB filing process was restructured in early March and it seems my architect and the expeditor filed shortly thereafter. It is now three months and my architect expects approval and ability to begin demo in late June/early July. That’s about four months of processing. Is this typical or should I be alarmed? I have zero visibility into the permitting process and not even sure if this is just standard or if I should be updated in more detail. I was asked to create a DOB Now account a couple of weeks ago… I am trying to be a respectful client and not micromanage a process I do not know but I am getting increasingly anxious. I am also concerned that the asbestos report came back over two weeks ago and still nothing from architect/contractor on moving forward with the removal (which I understand is not contingent on permits).

Guest User | 3 years and 11 months ago

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Everything is delayed now. I don’t know current status of things but seems long. It took me almost 2 months during Covid to get permits but my expediter was diligent and constantly checking, I had the asbestos removed on my own. I really dislike how much one has to manage people in construction. It seems like very few people take the initiative to keep people informed. No repeat business I suppose

Guest User | 3 years and 11 months ago

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You can order asbestos abatement yourself, without involving the architect or contractor (unless you have a contract that says otherwise). We used At Work Environmental, which was cheaper than two others (in one case, half the price), and more expensive than a fourth. Very organized, good at communicating. We were happy with them.

hkapstein | 3 years and 11 months ago

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I agree strongly with Janedrew. You would think if you hired a gc and an architect you wouldn’t have to do that much yourself to keep things moving, but think again.

classc1 | 3 years and 11 months ago

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Really? I started construction in April. My architect is self certifying. Took 2 days to get the permits and approval.

Guest User | 3 years and 11 months ago

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There are lots of variables to this: type/complexity of job, whose desk it lands on, competency of the expeditor, quality of the plans, how backlogged DOB is etc.

Once I had an expediter who ended up having to file the same paperwork several times. Each time the file got rejected by the DOB site due to the size but no one was informed.

Expediter would submit it. Instead of checking if it went through.. they would wait to check in at the time they anticipated approval. Then would find out that the file never went through. So each time they lost several weeks. One would think an experienced expediter would know better….

Start asking them for dates of when paperwork was submitted etc and ask them to forward any receipts/submission confirmation. Other option go to DOB yourself and try to find out.

cate | 3 years and 11 months ago

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In the interests of self defense, given the state of the DOB and the tax department, renovations requiring an Alt-1 or Alt-2 should not be undertaken lightly, imho. Just my two cents. (Gut renovation is not required to update mechanicals.)

hkapstein | 3 years and 11 months ago

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If you end up getting audited on a self cert and don’t pass it could be a huge headache. I don’t know how often this happens, but I get the impression it’s not extremely rare.

classc1 | 3 years and 11 months ago

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Not sure there’s a problem often and I thought only certain architects can self certify. In any case, they never seem to have any issues plus we are following the plans submitted. I was shocked that they were approved in a day or two but here we are going on our third month of construction. I’m so happy we self certified.

hkapstein | 3 years and 11 months ago

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There’s a lot to say here, but I think the implication that self cert is the way to go is more complicated than that. It might be, but it generally means that the zoning rules will have to be followed more conservatively. If you’re close on FAR, an architect might stretch the mechanical deductions if it’s not a limited review project. If it’s a cookie cutter that the architect knows won’t have any issues, then it could be a major time saver.

jimhillra | 3 years and 10 months ago

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Professional certification of plans (pro-cert) is a double-edged sword. It will get you through the plan exam phase in moments, potentially saving you months on the front end of the job. Audits usually happen when the job is submitted for signoff, so if you are in construction, you will most likely not have an problems until signoff.

The problem is that at the end of the job, if you get an inspection or get audited, and anything is found to be non-compliant, then most likely you’ll need to redo work, adding time and money onto the job when you have neither to spare.

We often do pro-cert on smaller projects in which we are 100% sure there are no code issues. If there are grey areas, we prefer to go the plan exam route. In today’s DOB system, the plan reviews have been faster than before, so less tiem is wasted this way, and we can be sure to avoid redoing non-compliant work.

In addition to pro-cert there is Directive 14 (D14) signoffs, in which the architect waives the construction inspection. For a few years now, this has been mandatory on non C of O jobs. B efore that, the DOB would audit 20% of all pro-cert or D14 jobs, and nearly 100% of jobs that were filed with both. Now that the D14 is mandatory on the majority of jobs, it’s not clear how many they audit or how they coose which ones get audited. There was even a period when expediters would not hand in signoff requests on Tuesdays because those would be the 20% that would get audited!