Public Improvement (Mechanic's) Liens

Individuals and businesses that provide labor or materials to a contractor or subcontractor who is performing public improvement construction for the City, and who are not paid by the contractor or subcontractor as agreed upon, may file a notice of lien for the value of the labor and materials. When a lien has been filed, Finance will withhold 1.5 times the stated value of the lien from the City's payments to the contractor until the lienor (the individual or business that filed the notice of lien) has been paid.

The Lien Docket is available to the public to provide information on current public improvement liens that are filed against contractors who are doing business with the City. The Docket is current only as of the date posted.

 Download Public Improvement Lien Docket

Filing a Public Improvement Lien
To file a Public Improvement Lien complete the Public Improvement Lien Form.

Public Improvement Lien Form
Download Form

Mail or deliver in-person to:
NYC Department of Finance
Client Services Unit
1 Centre Street - Room 2200
New York, NY 10007

Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 4:00pm

Form Instructions
Complete all Fields:

• The name of the primary contractor
• The Comptroller's contract registration number
• The City agency that is paying for the project

The Lien Form must be signed and notarized, and the Affidavit of Service must be signed and notarized separately.

Who Can File?
Finance only accepts liens against contractors doing public improvement projects with mayoral City agencies. Authorities such as Transit, Housing, School Construction, etc. handle their own liens, and documents should be filed directly with those entities.

To Withdraw a Lien
A lien can only be removed from the Docket (the list of active liens) when a valid Satisfaction of Lien is filed by the lienor (the party who filed the lien) or pursuant to court order. When the lien is removed from the Docket, the money being held is automatically released to the contractor.

Contact Information
Call 212-669-4216