New York City’s legal definition of “major building” is changing. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) recently published a Service Notice explaining that as of December 11, 2024, the height criteria for a “major” building will be lowered.
Under the existing definition, a “major” existing or proposed building is one that has 10 or more stories or is at least 125 feet in height. The new definition changes this criteria to 7 or more stories or at least 75 feet in height.
Whether a building meets the definition of “major” impacts its site safety requirements. This means it’s vital that owners understand whether their buildings will be recharacterized as “major”:
- The new definition will apply to initial permits issued and initial permit requests submitted on or after December 11, 2024.
- It will not apply to permits issued and permit requests submitted before December 11, 2024.
- Beginning December 11, 2024, the site safety requirements will apply to any job on a major building that meets the new definition of a major building.
- Any job filed before December 11, 2024, for which an initial General Construction (GC), Structural (ST), Foundation (FO), Support of Excavation (SE), or Earthwork (EA) permit has not been requested or issued as of December 11, 2024, will be required to comply with the site safety requirements.
We anticipate an increase in the number of approvals and permits sought before the new definition goes into effect, so we encourage owners and architects to keep that in mind when developing project timelines and to submit applications as soon as possible.
