On March 30th, the NYC Department of Buildings issued a memo implementing Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.6 (EO) and New York State Empire Development Corporation Guidance requiring the shutdown of all non-essential construction except emergency construction
For projects enrolled in its Voluntary Cleanup Program or the “e” designation program, OER will implement the construction ban on as follows:
- Affordable housing projects (defined as those building affordable inclusionary housing, mandatory inclusionary housing or sites where 30% of more of the residential units are affordable) are deemed essential and can continue with construction activities. Similarly, other essential projects identified in the Governor’s order, e.g. homeless shelters and transit facilities, etc., can continue with construction.
- OER projects that are considered non-essential but have broken ground and where activities may be suspended without compromising public health must cease construction.
- Sites with approved remedies that have not yet broken ground and their development is not essential per the Governor’s EO cannot commence construction until the Governor’s construction ban is lifted or modified.
- Sites in the investigation sampling phase that are not essential must suspend work.
For each OER site that will continue operations, the development team must submit a statement to the OER Project Manager explaining the basis for each project’s continued operation. These statements must be submitted by the close of business on Wednesday, April 1.
Owners and contractors of construction and demolition sites subject to the suspension order must secure and maintain their sites in accordance with the NYC Department of Buildings Buildings Bulletin 2020-004 .