New York City continues to try to reduce both the presence and duration of sidewalk sheds. In a recent Service Notice, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) set forth new procedural changes to sidewalk shed filings under Local Law 48 and Local Law 51 of 2025. The changes went into effect February 2, 2026.
There are two significant areas of change: permit expirations and new filing questions.
90-Day Permit Expirations: No More Auto-Renewals
All sidewalk shed permits issued or renewed on or after February 2, 2026, will expire after 90 days. There will be no more automatic renewals in DOB NOW; each renewal will require manual submission and payment of the renewal fee (currently $130).
Permits issued prior to February 2, 2026 are not subject to the 90-day expiration timeline, but they will not be eligible for automatic renewal.
New Filing Questions on PW1 and PW2
For Building Types 3-Family or “Other,” a new Scope of Work question on the PW1 will ask whether the sidewalk shed is installed in connection with a new building, enlargement, or demolition work for which a permit has already been issued.
If the answer is “Yes,” then Local Law 48 and 51 requirements do not apply, and no additional progress questions will appear.
If the answer is “No,” meaning that either (a) the sidewalk shed is not installed in connection with a new building, enlargement or demolition work and/or (b) a permit has not already been issued, then the shed falls under Local Law 48 and potentially Local Law 51, triggering additional compliance obligations.
- There will be additional sidewalk-shed-related questions to answer on the PW1.
- A Registered Design Professional (RDP) must be added to the PW2 as a Stakeholder. The RDP must log into DOB NOW to answer questions about the progress of the underlying work both at initial permit submission and at each 90-day renewal.
How to Prepare
With automatic renewals a thing of the past, project teams will need to proactively calendar and manage renewals to avoid permit lapses or violations.
Additionally, teams may need to designate an RDP who is not only available to participate in answering questions at the initial permit submission, but also at each 90-day renewal.
Creating and maintaining internal tracking protocols will be vital to keeping your project on track.
