New York, NY BOMA/New York’s November 12th Annual Conference and Leadership Breakfast is living up to its name by first announcing the results of the Association’s elections, and then focusing exclusively on the steps being taken by Rick Chandler, the New York City Commissioner of the Department of Buildings, (DOB) to implement Building One City, the initiative being touted as the “Blueprint for Fundamental Transformation at the New York City Department of Buildings.” Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vision of creating an equitable and efficient DOB is seen as the foundation of Building One City, which the mayor has characterized as “fundamental reform.”
Chandler has called the dual, occasionally conflicting, nature of DOB staff responsibilities as “juggling...being staunch enforcers of the New York City Construction Codes, and advocates for growth—keeping projects moving, the economy expanded, people employed and businesses opening.” DOB staff enforce codes and resolutions on over 1 million buildings and construction sites, and issued 140,000 construction permits in 2014. “Through an unprecedented infusion of resources”—320 new positions and $120 million in funding—the DOB will be transformed.
Stating unequivocally that “development is crucial to our city,” Chandler lays out the challenges that lie ahead: Ensuring continued economic growth and prosperity, spurring the development of affordable housing, improving energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and helping buildings and neighborhoods withstand sea level rise and other extreme consequences of climate change. He calls the DOB reforms “root and branch,” even going so far as to call it a “revolutionized agency.”
Goals set to achieve that revolution entail 100% online, automated handling of numerous key procedures, an increase in low-risk self-certification, 100% of projects having a clear and transparent status, best-in-class turnaround times, and much more.
The November 12th conference runs from 8 and 10 a.m. at the 101 Club,101 Park Ave. For more details, please contact Daniel Avery, BOMA/NY’s director of legislative affairs, at [email protected] or (212) 239-3662.