In four years, Buildings has enacted eight of sixty-five safety recommendations after spending $5.8 million on a study. On November 7, 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit finding the Department of Buildings has failed to act upon recommendations for crane safety that came from a report they commissioned, four years after the report was issued. (more…)

Owners of stalled sites participating in new DOB safety monitoring program can renew permits for up to four years. On October 14, 2009, the City Council passed legislation creating a construction site maintenance program, to be administered by the Department of Buildings, for sites where permitted work has been suspended or has not commenced.

Currently, construction permits issued by Buildings will expire if the owner does not commence work within twelve months or suspends work for a period of twelve months. Owners must then request that Buildings reinstate the permits before restarting work. An owner suspending work for more than two years risks losing the ability to reinstate the permits. Under the new program, permits held by participating owners of stalled sites would remain valid for the full two-year term, and Buildings could renew the permits for up to four years, as long as the owner remained in good standing. (more…)

Applicant claimed that combining office building and residential townhouse would improve surrounding area. On August 20, 2009, the City Council approved a developer’s plan to combine two buildings on East 94th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues into one 67-foot, six-story residential building within the Carnegie Hill Historic District. Originally built in the 1890s, developers converted 4 East 94th Street into a seven-story, 75-foot office building in 1963. The second building is a five-story, 58-foot residential townhouse at 6-8 East 94th Street.

The developer’s plan called for reducing the height of the 75-foot office building and increasing the townhouse’s height to create a uniform height of 67 feet, exceeding the area’s 60-foot height limit. The plan would open up the rear yard by demolishing a one-story addition behind the office building that extends to its lot line. The developer would replace the one-story addition with a six-story, five-and-a-half foot rear facade extension, creating a new 30-foot rear yard. (more…)

Jessica Lappin

Council Member Jessica Lappin represents Community District 5 in Manhattan, which includes parts of Midtown and the Upper East Side. She also chairs the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses. A New York native and graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Georgetown University, Lappin was raised in a landmarked house in Gramercy Park. Well-regarded by preservation advocates, she has garnered accolades from the Friends of the Upper East Side and the Historic Districts Council for her proactive stance towards the protection of historic neighborhoods and buildings. During her tenure as Chair, the City has designated 67 individual landmarks and 11 historic districts. She has also crafted legislation in response to recent crane collapses, mandating additional safety measures at construction sites and training for crane operators.

On the landmarking process. When fellow council members elected her to Chair, Lappin was more than happy to accept since “the budget and land use are the two big, meaty issues that the City Council deals with,” and because it provided her with an opportunity to “have a real role in terms of shaping our landscape in New York City.” While she states that not all of her predecessors at the helm of the Subcommittee could be considered landmarks advocates, Lappin believes she comes from a position of real appreciation for preservation, looking at every item before the Subcommittee fairly and objectively. Lappin states the importance of continuing to evolve and grow as a City, but she is quick to add that we must always keep our character and history, and be mindful of our architectural jewels. When asked about whether an end to the construction boom will have an effect on the prioritization of landmark designations or protection in the City, Lappin responded that historic preservation, ideally, lies outside such considerations, and that “landmarking should not be used as an anti-development tool or as an alternative to zoning.” (more…)

Proposed rule would set new qualifications, registration requirements and suspension rules. The Department of Buildings proposed stiffer requirements for the designation of construction superintendents on all demolition and construction jobs.

Under the new rules, Buildings would not issue demolition or building permits without a designated construction superintendent who met certain qualifications. To qualify, the construction superintendent must be a licensed professional engineer, a registered architect or a site safety manager certified by Buildings. Alternatively, the construction superintendent must provide proof of five years of construction superintendent experience and seven to ten hours of completed safety courses, or five years experience in the construction industry as a mason, carpenter, or building inspector and 50 hours of appropriate safety courses. (more…)