East Flatbush Permits?

We recently bought a legal 2 family brick house in East Flatbush. We are thinking of adding a few windows in the back of the house and removing a few walls. All work would be done to code, but we are wondering how crucial it is to pull permits for this job. In Park Slope or even PLG it would be necessary. But in our neighborhood no one seems to obtain permits unless they are doing major exterior renovations– and sometimes not even then. Thoughts?

tcflatbsh

in Permits 9 years and 1 month ago

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tcflatbsh | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks for the good advice all. We are still undecided at the moment, but this thread has helped. We are considering skipping the windows and saving that for later (and obtaining permits for them as they require exterior work). But when I pulled the original blueprints at the DOB they indicate that there is an existing window where we want to put one- apparently it was sealed up by the last owner.

resident2 | 9 years and 1 month ago

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With the Gas explosions, I think people will be more wary of non permitted work, especially if they see plumbing pipes going in. Adding extra windows could cause structural problems, I once owned a house on a block where someone added windows on the side of their building, the side wall started falling out of alignment within a couple of years, years later they can still not live in the house. Extra windows will get some 311 calls I am sure.

no-permits | 9 years and 1 month ago

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don’t get permits. check all the neighboring buildings on BIS and see if it looks like their is a complainer around, then hand out your phone number to neighbors and ask them to call you if there is a problem. also, it doesn’t hurt to tell neighbors what you are planning. give everyone working inside their own key and tell them not to open it for anyone who knocks.

tcflatbsh | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I recognize the goodwill factor, and that the cost and the headache of permitting can save even more costs and headaches down the road. One of my concerns is I’ve been told that pulling permits is essentially inviting the DOB into your house. The house is in good shape, but I’m fairly certain there’s some old work (or even recent work, as it’s newly flipped) that’s not 100% up to code. I just want to be sure I’m not opening up a huge can of worms.

catboot | 9 years and 1 month ago

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If you are removing walls, I think it’s best to pull a permit. I live on a block in BedStuy with a lot of unpermitted work, and no one (long time residents or newcomers) is happy about it. Speaking strictly from my block’s perspective, pulling a permit will buy you good will.

bliz | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Aside from filing costs, architect fees, and licensed contractor costs, how much will your taxes go up if you file?

mario71 | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I think the key decision, unless you’re in a rush, is whether to use an architect or not. If you’re using a capable architect then filing is not terribly difficult, and the expense is a small fraction of what you’re already paying your architect for design and quality review of the work. My take is that permitting is a pain, but it can save you much worse pain down the road.

tcflatbsh | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Hard to say. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much work done on the block or behind us in recent years.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 1 month ago

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It was like that when I was in Bed Stuy. It depends upon your neighbors. Has a similar amount of work been done on your block or behind you without complaints?