Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his intent to appoint Robert LiMandri to serve as New York City's Buildings Commissioner. LiMandri, who has more than nineteen years of engineering, real estate and construction management experience in the private and nonprofit sectors, has served as Acting Commissioner since April 2008 and has been part of the Department of Buildings' senior management since 2002. The Mayor will formally appoint LiMandri after signing into law Introduction 755-A, which passed the City Council. This legislation requires that either the Commissioner or First Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Buildings be a licensed Architect or Engineer. This will give Mayors needed flexibility in choosing the person that will run the Department of Buildings while also ensuring that an individual with the technical expertise of a licensed architect or engineer is in the department's highest leadership levels.

Homeowners are invited to the borough offices every week to meet with Buildings staff. Experts are available to provide homeowners with one-on-one assistance, answer questions and provide project guidance. Homeowner's Night is held every Tuesday from 4:00pm - 5:30pm at each borough office.

To ensure contractors are maintaining supported scaffolds and sidewalk sheds, the Department now requires these structures to be inspected daily with the results recorded in a maintenance log. This log must be readily available on-site at all times. In February, the Department launched its SAFE Scaffold & Shed initiative to crackdown on unsafe, non-compliant supported scaffolds and sheds.

On August 12, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law three new pieces of legislation that will increase the safety of existing buildings and structures and will enhance safety on the jobsite. Intro 687-A requires structurally compromised buildings to undergo periodic inspections. Intro 763-A re-classifies certain housekeeping violations, such as failure to secure loose materials, as hazardous, making them subject to higher penalties. Intro 793-A mandates a five-year inspection cycle for retaining walls ten feet or higher that front public streets. These three bills are part of the Department's aggressive legislative agenda announced in June to enhance construction safety. To learn more about these bills, view the Mayor's Office press release.

The Buildings Department is holding a workshop for individuals who would like to learn more about the new Limited Alteration Application (LAA1) and the new Ordinary Plumbing Work Report (OP128). The two-day workshop will review the filing procedures associated with these documents, as well as other service changes.

Are you an engineer interested in working for the Buildings Department? The Department is seeking qualified civil, electrical, mechanical and structural engineers. Click on the below links to learn more about joining the Agency that helps build New York.

On July 16, Mayor Bloomberg along with the Buildings, Fire and Environmental Protection Departments announced a series of changes in the way demolition and abatement operations are regulated and carried out in New York City. Outlined in the report (1,145 pdf) Strengthening the Safety, Oversight and Coordination of Construction, Demolition and Abatement Operations, these changes strengthen inspection practices, increase notifications and enhance data-sharing between agencies to improve the safety of abatement and demolition operations.

On July 15, Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri testified before the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee on several key pieces of legislation designed to advance construction site and building safety. The seven bills addressed at the hearing focus on new regulations for tower and climber cranes, concrete operations, site safety requirements, vacant buildings and retaining walls. This follows the recent June City Hall event where Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn and the Buildings Department announced an aggressive legislative agenda  to enhance accountability and oversight of construction sites.

The New NYC Construction Codes are now in effect, and in many circumstances applicants may choose to use the New Codes or the 1968 Building Code. However, certain administrative provisions, enforcement provisions and construction safeguards under the New Codes are now required, and the Buildings Department has a number of corresponding rules and operational changes. To ease the transition to the New Codes, we will update our website frequently to provide easy access to operational change information.

For applicants submitting certain alteration, professionally-certified and D14 applications that comply with the New NYC Construction Codes, there are interim requirements that must be followed for applications submitted between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008:

Effective immediately, all licensed Hoist Machine Operators, Master Riggers and Tower Crane Riggers seeking to renew their licenses must follow a two-step license renewal process and schedule an appointment in person to obtain the renewed license. This new procedure applies to all license renewals postmarked on or after July 1, 2008.

New York City’s CityStore is now taking orders for the New NYC Construction Codes. The New Codes consist of four volumes: the 2008 Building Code, the 2008 Plumbing Code, the 2008 Electrical Code and the 2008 Fuel Gas Code. These Codes books will be available mid-July, and you can pre-order copies today. To learn more about the New Codes, visit the NYC Construction Codes area of our website and download the New Codes.

To improve construction quality and safety, Special Inspections  have now replaced Controlled Inspections. Special Inspections are an important verification that work considered critical to life safety and property protection has been or is being conducted according to approved plans and specifications. To learn more, view our Special Inspection Codes Compass and table.

To ensure contractors protect their workers with reliable safety-harness systems to prevent falls, the Buildings Department is now mandating additional safety protocols for concrete-embedded Fall Arresting Systems. These new protocols are required for all new and existing concrete-embedded Fall Arresting Systems and are effective immediately. These new mandates are in addition to all existing requirements from the manufacturer, the NYC Building Code and all other applicable laws and regulations.

Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, and Acting Buildings LiMandri, with the support of construction developers, contractors and organized labor, announced an aggressive legislative agenda that will equip the Buildings Department with additional oversight and enforcement powers to further the safety of New Yorkers and construction workers. The centerpiece of this comprehensive safety agenda focuses on the highest-risk construction operations by requiring new oversight of general contractors and concrete and demolition operations.

On Sunday, May 18, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri announced that $5.3 million has been added to the Buildings Department budget to fund 63 new positions dedicated to enhancing oversight and enforcing construction safety requirements. Of these new positions, 56 will be implementing Phase III of the Department's Special Enforcement Plan. The funding adds seven positions to enable the Department to implement Local Law 36 (60 kb-pdf), which requires general contractors building one-, two- and three-family homes to register with the Department. The additional resources are part of the Mayor's FY 2009 Executive Budget.
Read the Mayor's Office Press Release
General Contractors Registration

The Department is now certifying Site Safety Coordinators. These safety supervisors are responsible for supervising construction and demolition of 10- to 14-story buildings, and the Department is developing education, training, inspection and notification requirements. The Department held a public hearing on the proposed Site Safety Coordinator and Site Safety Manager qualifications rule May 29.

On April 1, the Buildings Department launched a new registration program for general contractors. All general contractors seeking permits to erect one-, two-, or three-family homes are now required to register with the Department by October 31, 2008. After that date, only general contractors registered with the Buildings Department will be issued building permits for these types of buildings. Unregistered individuals or entities found building such homes after October 31, 2008 will be subject to violations, Stop Work Orders, criminal charges, and the seizure of vehicles and construction tools.

Effective immediately, this Buildings Department Regulatory Notice supersedes the March 25, 2008 Regulatory Notice for erecting and dismantling (including jumping) all tower cranes in New York City. The revised protocols incorporate recommendations obtained during the Department’s recent survey of the erection and dismantling (including jumping) procedures for tower cranes. Following the review of industry practices of jumps performed from March 25 – May 16, 2008, where Department Inspectors were required to witness, for the first time, every single crane jump, the Department will witness jumps and verify meetings on an audit basis. Rather than scheduling Inspectors to witness all crane jumps, the Department will deploy Inspectors to conduct random, unannounced site visits to verify that required safety precautions and requirements are followed. Unsafe conditions will result in immediate Stop Work Orders and violations. Failure to comply with Stop Work Orders may result in fines up to $10,000.

Beginning January 2, 2008, all permit applications for New Building and Demolitions for buildings up to and including 14 stories will require a registered Construction Superintendent to be listed on the new PW-2 form. Announced in May, 2006, this new safety requirement (89 kb-pdf) will further ensure construction sites are supervised by qualified individuals with the appropriate knowledge of construction and risk prevention. This registration requirement will not go into effect for permit applications for one-, two- and three-family homes until July 2008.