By George Crawford Just a few years ago, utilities were priming the LED retrofit pump with high rebates. Rebate funding often covered the entire cost of LED products for qualifying projects. Today rebates are much lower, covering maybe 25% of the cost of LED products for a commercial retrofit—even less for… View more
By Alex Rippere As a building code consultant, the most maddening energy code objection I’ve encountered in the past two years pertains to establishing a proposed exterior wall’s maximum thermal conductivity, aka the U-factor (lower=better). For example, an above-grade mass wall needs to meet a U-factor of no more than 0.104… View more
By Penny Laughlin Effective April 7, 2017, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) added a new section to the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY), which governs sign hanging. The amendment permits licensed sign hangers (Master Sign Hangers and Special Sign Hangers) to file applications for signs… View more
By Penny Laughlin The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has added a new requirement for projects involving earthwork, or excavation, as of May 1, 2017. If you’ve done any excavation in the five boroughs, then you already know that the DOB requires contractors with earthwork permits to notify the… View more
By Frank Fortino This month we’re taking a closer look at the options and requirements of Affordable New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s replacement for the 421a tax abatement. The affordable New York housing program applies to eligible projects containing six or more units built during the following time frame: Construction commencement… View more
By Frank Fortino As the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) begins the challenge of revising the construction codes, the agency continues to develop and improve DOB NOW. Notably, as with the code revisions, DOB is now working with industry representatives to make the online filing process more effective. Here… View more
By Austin Regan To better protect the public and ensure good construction practices, the NYC DOB plan review has been created with several specialized inspection units. Areas of specialty include foundation/excavation and concrete placement—critical structural elements. In the past, inspection units were staffed with former construction workers, who would review approved… View more