The Department of Buildings added 1,263 new active building violations complaints last week, and added 1,246 new complaints, the week prior. Among those reported, 210 violations complaints were issued for lack of permit, according to a released study of building violations history reports offered by BUILDVIO Team to small business owners in New York City.
To understand the impact of building violations on an ability to legalize a Restaurant or any other Place of Assembly, one must understand that all building and fire code requirements that impact leased space should be met; all violations should be cleared, and all appropriate construction permits issued and executed. This should all be done before the Department of Buildings performs its first inspection for the issuance of a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation.
As of May 2013, Place of Assembly Certificates of Operation do not expire. Subsequently, a Place of Assembly must receive a Place of Assembly Permit, issued by the New York City Fire Department, within one year of issuance of Certificate of Operation. This completes the legalization process, which must be maintained, by renewing Place of Assembly Permit, annually.
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However, small businesses owners may fail to attain full legalization, because of building violations that existed on the property before the lease was signed. Problems with plumbing or construction of the leased space, like deviation from approved plans, may make it impossible to obtain a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation or the Place of Assembly Permit. To prevent loosing time and money, savvy business owners may rely on building violations history reports before signing a lease.