DOB PERMITS ~ otherwise known as Department of Building Permits.
Below is a snapshot of some of the most common permits required for your special event experience in New York. The Coast to Coast Team navigates the process for you, and insures that all your requirements are met per city and state guidelines.
NYC DOB PERMITS
AHV – After Hours Variance: An After Hours Variance is required if you are seeking to perform construction activity before 7:00 am, after 6:00 pm, or on the Weekend.
C&D – Cranes & Derricks: Department-approved applications for crane work and crane devices will be issued new permits: a Certificate of Operation (CD), an On-site Certificate (CN), or an On-site Certificate (Limited). Applicants must print a copy of each issued permit by using the BIS – Building Information System. C&D Permits must be secured by the operator. Displaying Permits
Applicants must print one copy of each Cranes and Derricks permit. A copy of the CD must be kept with the crane equipment. The CN and Limited permits must be posted on the construction fence with other Department-issued permits. The Department will issue violations for failing to post these permits or failing to have them available with the crane equipment.
PA – Place of Assembly: A Place of Assembly (PA) Certificate of Operation is required for premises where 75 or more members of the public gather indoors or 200 or more gather outdoors, for religious, recreational, educational, political, or social purposes, or to consume food or drink.
In order to have a legal Place of Assembly, certain Fire and Building Code requirements must be fulfilled. Fire Guards must be onsite, and the number of guards and placement will be determined for each event. Fire extinguishers must be on site, with the number and placement determined for each event. Bathroom facilities a certain number must accommodate the event attendees. Exit access must be a minimum of two.
The Department of Buildings performs the initial inspection for the first issuance of a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation. The Fire inspector will come out the day of your event, to review and issue the final permit.
TPA – Temporary Place of Assembly: A TPA is issued where there are 75 or more people within an indoor space or 200 or more in an exterior open space. It permits the event space to be used as a Place of Assembly for a limited duration and/or correlatively limits the sizes and duration of structures used for the event, e.g. platform/stages, reviewing/band stands, bleachers, tents, artwork, and support structures.
Before a TPA can be issued, DOB must receive and approve an Application Letter requesting a TPA from a Registered Design Professional (RDP), either a Registered New York State Architect or a Licensed Professional Engineer. The application letter shall describe the premise and activity in which the event will occur and shall also include drawings that are signed and stamped by the RDP.
- The TPA application must be submitted earlier than 10 days before the event. An application received within three days prior to the event will not be guaranteed an approval.
- A separate letter requesting authorization for the temporary use of a space for assembly purposes is required where such space does not have a PA.
- All applications must be typed; hand-written applications will not be accepted
- Scopes of work required to obtain a work permit(s) as part of a TPA:
- Platforms, Stages, Trusses and Bleachers:
- Temporary platforms, bleachers, reviewing stands, outdoor bandstands and similar miscellaneous structures, e.g. a press riser, camera platform, scaffolding to support music equipment that will cover an area of 120 square feet or more and will be in place for 30 days or more.
- Any truss that is higher than 10 feet. A truss is a support structure with two vertical and one horizontal pieces used to support objects like lighting trusses, start/finish trusses.
- Any tents or canopy more than 400 gross square feet or that will be in place for more than 30 days
- Any prop higher than 10 feet. A “prop” is any free-standing object that will not support additional weight such as speaker towers, statues, sculptures.
- All applications for a TPA that include the use of temporary structures, e.g. platform/stages, reviewing/band stands, bleachers, tents, must be filed as:1. An Alteration Type 2 work type,
- A Directive 14, which means the Applicant inspects the work and certifies it meets the code requirements of the design, and
- Include Technical Reports (TR-1) with the required Statements of Responsibility signed by a respective Design professional who will take responsibility for the work to be performed.
- All work permit applications require a DOB Contractor’s Tracking Number.
SIGN PERMITS & PROJECTIONS: [Please see Sign & Projections NYC]
C2C Permits Blog 