Over the years, many Doctors Offices were built in New York City. Although a Doctors Office is a Commercial Use, the New York City Zoning Resolution classified it as a Use Group 4 Community Facility. This designation allows this commercial use in a Residential District where regular commercial uses are not allowed. At times, the […]
As Complicated as the New York City Zoning Resolution seems, it is based upon a few basic concepts. The Zoning resolution’s primary purpose is to regulate “Use” and “Bulk”. In addition to “Use” and “Bulk” it regulates parking, loading, signs, etc, but “Use” and “Bulk” are the primary concerns. The Zoning Resolution and the […]
As of Dec 31st, all Mechanical work must comply with the 2014 New york City Mechanical Code There are some exceptions for Mechanical work in Existing Buildings that is worth noting Essentially new work must comply, but the existing systems do not need to comply. 28-101.4.3 – Optional use of 1968 (1938) Codes: Exception […]
On December 31, 2014 the 2014 New York City Building Codes became effective and the rules governing the way one applies the Building Code to an existing building have changed. It should be noted that there are over 975,000 existing buildings in New York City. It is therefore important to understand how to apply the […]
One of the most frequent question we receive is regarding the legality of installing air conditioning condensers in residential open space. People see various types of HVAC condensers installed in court yards and rear yards and ask why they are not permitted to do the same. The installation is governed by the NYC […]
Let’s start off by agreeing that the English language is ambiguous. That being said, there are some words and definitions that are clear, but are constantly used incorrectly. The best example of this is the misuse of the words “cellar” and “basement”. In the world or Architecture there is a major difference between […]
As architects we design apartment renovations and also review renovations by other architects on behalf of the Building Management. The following are the guidelines we recommend to other design professionals to make the review process as painless as possible: Guidelines for Submission of Plans for Apartment Renovations New York State licensed architect or engineer […]
1. To legalize an apartment combination you must file a new application at the Building Department. Since 1997 we have been able to file Type 2 applications that do not affect a Certificate of Occupancy, but rather results in a Letter for Completion. 2. The apartments that are being combined must not be on […]