Building Renovation Rules

[Lynne Pruskowski]

HotelsMotels and College Dormitories (occupancy classification R-1): Residential buildings with more than two (2) dwelling units, including transient occupancies such as hotels and motels; college dormitories; supervised non-profit community facility congregate living adult homes and homeless shelters.

Renovation of a Residential and Community Facility may involve remodeling, renewal of an outdated or damaged structure or associated equipment and materials, or partial demolition and any reconfiguration or replacement of interior partitions. Building renovations may also include the installation, repair or replacement of building systems, exterior faade, sidewalk vaults, etc.

Renovation and/or remodel of the interior of an entire existing building, consisting of complete removal, replacement or reconfiguration of: interior partitions and walls, the removal and replacement of ceiling systems and/or floor finishes, the replacement of interior doors and frames, the replacement of building plumbing, sprinkler, mechanical and electrical systems, modifications to the existing structure and exterior wall systems (which may involve window and exterior door replacement), building facade work and new exterior wall insulation, the replacement of existing roof systems, the replacement of interior cabinetry (millwork), the painting of rooms and common areas, etc.

For Mixed Use Buildings, see the construction project guidelines relevant to that use. For example, refer to Mercantile and Business Guidelines for a ground floor retail store in a building that is otherwise residential.

You are allowed to conduct construction on your property between 7am and 6pm on weekdays. At all other times, including anytime on the weekends, you must apply for after-hours authorization. Any person or business doing construction in the city must develop a Construction Noise Mitigation Plan before the start of construction or renovation. You will need to check off that you have a Construction Noise Mitigation Plan in your Department of Buildings application for a construction permit. If you are seeking an after-hours construction permit with the Department of Buildings or Department of Transportation (also known as a variance), you must have your Construction Noise Mitigation plan already in place.

All Construction Noise and Alternative Noise Mitigation Plans must be filed online using the forms listed on this page. Copies of the plans must also be available on site in case we inspect your business or property. To avoid fines, be sure that your contractor(s) is aware of these construction activity requirements. If nearby construction impacts you or your business, call 311 or file a report online. For general noise information, visit New York City Noise Code.

These rules establish a unique noise mitigation plan for each construction site, offering alternatives for contractors to continue their important construction tasks while having less noise impact on the surrounding environment.

The minimal noise rule provides a list of construction activities with minimal noise impact as well as specific noise mitigation procedures that must be implemented whenever the listed construction activities take place.

In accordance with Section 24-220 of the New York City Administrative Code, any individual or entity performing construction work in the city, shall adopt and implement a noise mitigation plan for each construction site when any device or activity is conducted as defined in Section 24-219. The attached sample form of a noise mitigation plan is intended to inform the user of the required plan elements that a responsible party must include when the listed devices are being used on site, and the mitigation strategies and best management practices that are being employed as defined in 15RCNY Section 28-102.

The following is intended to provide guidance to construction contractors with respect to finding and selecting suitable noise control products used on smaller construction jobs. These products and vendors may be helpful to contractors for achieving compliance with the New York City Noise Regulations.

The following is intended to provide guidance to construction contractors with respect to findings and selecting suitable noise control products. These products and vendors may be helpful to contractors for achieving compliance with the New York City Noise Regulations. These items are provided only as suggestions for contractors to consider and should not be construed as an official endorsement of any product and/or vendor by the City of New York. Contractors are free to choose other products/vendors that meet the requirements of such Code. This sheet will be updated from time to time as new noise control technologies gain acceptance.

Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. To create a more healthful workplace, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends preventing hazardous noise through controls for noise exposure and encourages business owners to create Buy Quiet programs as a first step.

The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) plays a key role in helping agencies understand and meet the federal building energy efficiency standards for agencies' new construction and major renovation projects. These standards include base building efficiency as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by subpart A of 10 CFR 433 and 10 CFR 435, commonly referred to as the "residential" and "commercial" rules, respectively. This also includes the Clean Energy Rule for qualifying projects as defined by subpart B of 10 CFR 433 and 10 CFR 435. The Clean Energy Rule supplements both the base commercial and residential rules, transitioning new buildings and major renovations away from on-site fossil fuel derived energy consumption. Projects meeting the cost thresholds that trigger compliance with the Clean Energy Rule must also comply with both subparts A and B of the energy efficiency standards by first designing an efficient building (per subpart A) and then optimizing the design to reduce or eliminate on-site fossil fuel usage (per subpart B).

Per Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA), as amended, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is required to determine whether energy efficiency standards for new federal buildings should be updated to reflect revisions to voluntary industry standards (ASHRAE 90.1 for commercial and multi-family high-rise residential buildings, and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for low-rise residential buildings). Section 305 of ECPA additionally requires that federal buildings be designed to achieve energy consumption levels that are at least 30% beyond the codified federal standards, where life cycle cost-effective. These requirements are detailed in 10 CFR 433 (Commercial Rule) and 10 CFR 435 (Residential Rule). Further, Section 109 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 42 USC 6834 directed DOE to establish revised federal building energy efficiency performance standards.

Section 433 of Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) 2007 directs DOE to establish, by rule, revised federal building energy efficiency performance standards for new buildings and major renovations such that certain federal buildings shall be designed to reduce on-site fossil fuel-generated energy consumption, as compared to a similar building in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003:

Full implementation guidance will be coming out soon. For questions on implementing the Clean Energy Rule, consult existing resources such as the frequently asked questions and petition process documents below.

The Clean Energy Rule is a federal regulation required by section 433(a) of EISA 2007 directing certain federal new construction and major renovation projects to reduce or eliminate their on-site (scope 1) fossil fuel-based energy consumption. The rule applies to projects over a certain cost threshold. The rule is implemented as a part of the existing Federal Building Energy Efficiency Standards of 10 CFR 433 and 10 CFR 435 with specific requirements located in subpart B of those regulations.

The Clean Energy Rule applies to new federal buildings and major renovations to federal buildings for which the construction cost exceeds a specified cost threshold. The term "federal building" means "any building to be constructed by, or for the use of, any federal agency, including buildings built for the purpose of being leased by a federal agency, and privatized military housing."

For the purposes of the Clean Energy Rule, "major renovations" applies both to whole building retrofits as well as multiple minor renovations that occur in phases on the same federal building if the overall renovation meets the cost thresholds as explained above. The rule also requires federal agencies to consider major renovations that are less than whole building renovations (i.e., component and system level renovations) that provide significant opportunities for substantial improvements in energy efficiency and reduce scope 1 fossil fuel usage.

System-level renovation applies to a group of equipment pieces that function together to satisfy a building load. This could be the replacement of a hot water heating system which requires the replacement of the main plant along with the supporting equipment such as pumps and storage tanks along with terminal equipment such as heating coils.

Agencies other than the General Services Administration may petition DOE for an adjustment to the fossil fuel-generated energy consumption requirement with respect to a specific building if meeting the requirement is technically impracticable when considering the agency's functional needs for the building. Technical impracticability may include technology availability but may not be based solely on cost considerations.

(1) not be feasible from an engineering design or execution standpoint due to existing physical or site constraints that prohibit modification or addition of elements or spaces; (2) significantly obstruct building operations and the functional needs of a building, specifically for industrial process loads, critical national security functions, mission critical information systems as defined in NIST SP 800-60 Vol. 2 Rev. 1, and research operations; or (3) significantly degrade energy resiliency and energy security of building operations as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(e)(6) and 10 U.S.C. 101(e)(7) respectively.

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