This week, First Deputy Commissioner Constadino "Gus" Sirakis, P.E., has been named Acting Commissioner of the Department of Buildings, steering efforts to promote the safe and lawful use of nearly 1.1 million buildings and over 40,000 active work sites.

A member of the Department of Buildings staff since 2006, Acting Commissioner Sirakis has decades of experience in improving Construction Code standards and enforcing compliance with city regulations. Prior to joining the Department, he worked as a structural engineer and project manager at several architectural and engineering consultation firms.

Former Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca was recently appointed Chief Efficiency Officer for the City for New York by Mayor Eric Adams after three years leading the Department. Under Commissioner La Rocca's leadership, the Department redoubled its modernization efforts and brought consistency to agency operations. Her tenure also coincided with the first decline in construction-related injuries in over a decade.

A big thank you and fond farewell to former Commissioner La Rocca for her dedicated service, and a warm welcome to Acting Commissioner Sirakis!

In response to feedback received from our customers at recent Q&A Sessions and Industry Meetings, the following system updates were made to DOB NOW: Build last month:

Mechanical Systems (MS) Filings: A new subcategory was added for Heating and Air Conditioning Systems.

Local Law 158 Professional Certification Restrictions: A new document, LL158/2017 Pro Cert Supporting Documentation, is required when submitting a professionally certified filing on a restricted building.

Export Data: When logged into the industry portal, data from a BIN search can be exported as an Excel document.

Place of Assembly (PA) Filings: Filing Representatives can initiate a Certificate of Operation request and create a Post Approval Amendment. Also, an Additional Supporting Documents section has been added.

Construction Superintendent Associated Jobs Search: New search function in the DOB NOW Public Portal to find permitted jobs associated with a licensed Construction Superintendent.

Tenant Protection Plan 72 Hour Notification: If a TPP notification has been submitted, a new one now cannot be made until the first notification is cancelled.

Earthwork Notifications: Notifications can be submitted for Foundation (FO) and Support of Excavation (SOE) jobs, in addition to Earthwork (EA) jobs.

Project Specific General Liability (PGL1) Insurance: the Project Specific General Liability (PGL1) document has been moved to the Work Permit (PW2) Required Documents section.

This month, DOB issued several Buildings Bulletins to rescind outdated Department regulations, and provide clarity on zoning requirements for cellular Monopoles. These bulletins represent the official policies of the Department to assist our customers and employees.

Buildings Bulletin 2022-003: This Bulletin rescinds 6 Memoranda, 2 Directives, 10 Letters and 3 Extract City Records, which were issued by this Department but are no longer applicable.

Buildings Bulletin 2022-004: This Bulletin rescinds 1 Operations Policy and Procedure Notice, 25 Memoranda, 4 Directives, 10 Letters, and 1 Buildings Bulletin which were issued by the Department but are no longer applicable.

Buildings Bulletin 2022-005: This Bulletin clarifies cellular monopoles as Use Group 6D "telephone exchanges or other communications equipment structures" under the New York City Zoning Resolution. Read the Bulletin Highlights for more information.

Find out more info about Department Buildings Bulletins.

An amendment to Local Law 152 of 2016 allows building owners to receive a deadline extension for their building's gas piping system inspection and required certification report.

Beginning March 22, 2022, requests for 180-day extensions can be submitted to DOB through our Local Law 152 of 2016 online portal.

Read Our Service Notice for more information.

Visit the Periodic Gas Piping System Inspections page on our website.

Springtime in New York City means local street fairs, carnivals, block parties, and of course, amusement rides.

As of March 18, 2022, requests for DOB inspections of temporary amusement devices must be submitted to the Department through DOB NOW: Safety. These requests are no longer submitted to the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

Read our Service Notice for more information.

Do you have questions about NYC rules for building letter grades, benchmarking and the limits on building greenhouse gas emissions?

Sign up for one of NYC Sustainability Help Center's FREE online seminars to learn about all of the greenhouse gas-related local laws that impact the majority of NYC's larger buildings, and how to get your building on the road to energy savings and compliance.

Reserve your spot online today.

Check out DOB's upcoming events page.