The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has made several important updates to Essential Construction requests.

Electrical and LAA Essential Construction Requests

For Electrical and LAA work to continue the permits must be entered in the Essential Construction request portal via DOB NOW. If work needs to continue for a permit submitted prior to April 3, 2020 an Essential Construction request must be submitted. If approved, the job will be listed on the Essential Active Construction Sites map and a Certificate of Authorization must be printed and posted on site for each permit.

If work needs to continue for any permits issued after April 3, 2020 an Essential Construction questionnaire is include in the DOB NOW permit application. The questionnaire must be completed for the application to be submitted. If approved, the job will be listed on the Essential Active Construction Sites. The DOB has advised that the system is scheduled to be updated this week so that Certificates of Authorization can be printed for these permits. We recommend checking the DOB NOW system so that the Certificate of Authorization can be printed and posted on site as soon as it is available.

Demolition Essential Construction Requests

Demolition filings must be in Application Processed (E) status in order to submit an Essential Construction request via DOB NOW. The request must be submitted by the PW1 applicant. Prior to submission the applicant should review the DOB’s current Essential Construction Guidance document.

Other Essential Construction Requests

The expiration date on existing Certificates of Authorization have been updated to May 15, 2020. If the New York state of emergency is extended the certificate date will automatically be updated. New Certificates of Authorization must be printed and posted on site at all times.

Per DOB, if your site or project is not listed on the Essential Active Construction Sites map an Essential Construction Request must be submitted and approved before work continues. The map is being updated daily by DOB, so be sure to check the map for updates. We recommend that all projects which wish to continue construction submit Essential Construction requests via the DOB NOW portal.

The DOB is working on the issue that is currently prohibiting Place of Assembly (PA) applications from being processed.

The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) updated the list of Essential Businesses which now includes “public or private schools.” The DOB has interpreted this to include all educational sites including colleges and universities.

For Essential Construction Requests we have developed a Step by Step guide to assist applicants.

To see the latest information released from the Department of Buildings monitor their COVID-19 response page.