File and Waive: DOB Launches New Portal for Façade Penalties

As of July 12, 2021, civil penalty payments and waive requests must go through DOB: NOW.

In the past couple of years there has been an increased attention on façade inspections under Local Law 11 of 1998 and the Façade Inspection Safety Program. After a fatal December 2019 incident, rules were amended for FISP Cycle 9 to include more extensive requirements and inspections, as well as increased fines for failures to correct previously-cited issues.

As of July 12, 2021, owners with façade violations will only be able to submit civil penalty payments or requests to waive penalties on the new DOB NOW: Safety Facade Violations Search Portal. Previous methods of in person, email, or mail submission will no longer be available for Cycles 6 and later.

Penalties covered are as follows:

Failure to File/Late Filing of TR6/FISP Reports
FISP Failure to Correct SWARMP Conditions
FISP Failure to Correct Unsafe Conditions

Please note, this only applies to penalties that are payable to the DOB.

To make a payment

After logging in and navigating to the Violations portal in DOB NOW: Safety:

Select “+Violation Payments and Facades” from the dashboard.
Search by Violation Number, Control Number, Address or BIN, and all applicable violations for the building will pop up.
Select the violation class you want to submit payment for.
Save the application. (Information will be populated from the information found in the eFiling account that was used to log into DOB NOW.)
Complete the “Owner Information and Statements” and “Signature” sections, then save again.
Select “Proceed to Pay” to enter the payment in the CityPay portal.
Note: Payments made by credit card will be processed immediately, with penalty status in Buildings Information System (BIS) switching to “dismissed”. Payments made by eCheck will take up to 10 days to be processed, and applicants will be notified by email of official dismissal.

To waive a civil penalty

After logging in and navigating to the Violations portal in DOB NOW: Safety:

From the dashboard, select “+Civil Penalty Waiver and Facades”.
Search by Violation Number, Control Number, Address or BIN. All active façade violations for Cycles 6 and later will appear.
Select the specific violation(s) you want to submit a waiver request for, and press the “+Add” button. (Only five violations can be submitted in one waiver request - multiple applications will needed to submit additional violations.)
Select the Waiver Request Reason. (See 1 RCNY §103-04 for waiver information.)
Save the application to proceed.
Upload any required supporting documentation on the Documents tab.
Complete the Statements and Signature sections, and save the application again.
Select “Submit”. The request will not be reviewed by DOB staff until the Submit button is selected.
An email notification will be sent with the status of the review. If the waiver is granted, the violation status in BIS will be updated to dismissed.

If you require assistance navigating the new portal or need any help with permit filings or violations matters, please feel free reach out to Outsource Consultants We are here to help.

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