DOB Prepares to Radically Change the CO Process

By Austin Regan, R.A.

Existing Buildings with current renewable TCOs and New Building applications preparing for their first TCO will be immediately impacted by new procedures set forth by the Department of Buildings (DOB).

By the end of this month, the issuance of all TCOs and C of Os will transition over to the new DOB NOW system. Once that transition occurs, it appears that current renewable TCOs will no longer exist on the Buildings Information System (BIS) and will need to be renewed on the DOB NOW portal.

Current new buildings under construction will not be able to obtain initial TCOs as well. For any property to obtain a future TCO or final C of O, building owners and developers will need to retain licensed professionals to register the property with the DOB NOW C of O Portal.

Like all past DOB NOW rollouts, we expect there to be glitches and delays associated with interfacing with the new DOB NOW C of O portal. This change affects thousands of properties in the five boroughs, and we anticipate a heavy volume of applicants submitting to get recognized by the DOB NOW C of O Portal.

We believe there are ways to mitigate some of the hardships that will occur because of this change. We also believe it is imperative to have the correct professionals on board to immediately assist building owners and developers in strategic planning to have their properties correctly registered with the DOB NOW C of O Portal.

Please contact your Metropolis representative at 212.233.6344 for more information about the impending changes and help during this critical time.