The dreaded filing with the city. We were so eager and very motivated to renovate our new old house. I worked late nights drafting the renovation plans after getting home from drafting scenery all day. I was lucky to know a structural engineer who offered his services to stamp my drawings and help me file. He also gave me plenty of advice on code related items that I had to include in my drawings. He then offered what the Department of Buildings (DOB) looked for on drawings from notes to sheet layout and numbering systems. We dotted our “i’s” and crossed our “t’s.” After six months of planning, we were finally ready to file!
The day we filed felt like such an accomplishment. So much planning had gone into these drawings already, that I was sure we would have no problem getting approved. We filed in October, 2019. We were approved March 20, 2020.
The nightmarish bumbling through bureaucracy took us five months. I’ll back up a step and note that in 2019 the DOB transitioned to online filing but still conducted in-person plan reviews. That meant the plumbing and mechanical had to be filed online separately from the architectural plans, which needed an appointment set for an in-person review with a plan examiner. Three separate filings now needed to be made for one single job. Oh, plus this also meant three separate filing fees too.
In New York City, you need a licensed Architect or Engineer to file a job application. In turn Architects and Engineers hire Expediter firms to handle the day to day filing and meet with city plan examiners. I learned quickly to trust your Expediter and fill out whatever paperwork they required. So. Much. Paperwork!
The first form I learned about was the PW3 Cost Affidavit. Basically, it’s a general estimate of how much the overall project is projected to cost. The city charges a percentage of the total to calculate the filing fee. The city needs their slice of course. I forget what the percentage is, but it is reasonable. Our filing fee for a $463,000 job was around $1,500. Not bad…next.
Next was the TR1. This is the form where you check boxes next to the type of work you plan to do. Depending on the type of work planned, additional inspections would be required that city would then have you fill out even more forms.
Then, there is the TR8. From what I understand of this one, it means that the signed Architect or Engineer will take responsibility of certain inspections making sure certain checked items will be code compliant. Again, sign and move on.
Plan Review
The plan review process was disappointing and frustrating. I believe it is not organized with the home owner or individuals trying to do the right thing in mind. It felt more like a machine geared for developers and corporations, and I was only annoying the system. As a home owner, I was not allowed to attend the in person review; only the expediter met with the examiner. They meet for 20 minutes and scan through the drawings as the examiner picks apart whatever they think is wrong or not to code.
The first meeting objection was about a couple sheets being numbered wrong. Apparently, DOB changed the way they wanted sheets numbered and labeled in the time we organized them, but they wouldn’t even look at the plans until this was corrected.
The second meeting objection was about a mislabeling of the floors and some rooms. They required “Cellar,” “Basement,” “First Floor,” “Second Floor.” Also, because I do not have a window in the kitchen, they wanted me to change the label of that room to “kitchenette”.
The third meeting was the worst. After the meeting was over, the above image was the list of objections within our plans. I was shocked. I had no idea what half of the items meant. The main objection had to do with a steel deck we had in our plans projecting out into the backyard from the first floor of the house. We only went 8′ – 0″ from the rear wall of the house per code. But because we needed to dig footings for the posts, that triggered all kind of alarms for this particular examiner.
The fourth meeting never took place. The examiner never showed up and never cancelled the appointment, thus wasting our time. By the way, once you’re assigned a plan examiner, that same examiner is assigned to your job and reviews your plans every time after you make an appointment. This time I was furious. I called every number on the DOB’s website and sent emails to everyone in that department that I could find. My expediter did the same. Somehow, I managed to reach the district manager of Manhattan by telephone one day who turned out to be very helpful. I wanted a new plan examiner to review our project, and he made that happen.
The fifth meeting our project was approved.
And… Success!! The coveted NYC work permit! We were finally ready to begin work!
Then, the pandemic hit. The city of New York put forth a stop work order on all non-essential construction. Alas, we had no choice but to wait. We did a lot of waiting at this point so far, so what was a few more months?
Just so that this post is not completely boring, here’s a look at an upcoming progress shot. Rebuilding the rear extension:
