News & Updates

In December 2024, NYC passed the City of YES for Housing Opportunity with the aim to create approximately 80,000 new homes throughout the city. One of the key goals is to create smaller accessory units. Like backyard cottages and legalizing cellar and basement apartments, also known as Ancillary Dwelling Units (ADU’s).  City of Yes will allow ADUs in one and two family homes in all low density (R1-R-5) zoning districts. Certain areas prohibit certain types

Construction work in New York City must adhere to the Administrative Code or the Zoning Resolution.  If at any point, during the course of construction,  an inspector from the Department of Buildings (DOB) determines that a job site is unsafe, said inspector will issue a Stop Work Order (SWO).  There are two types of Stop Work Orders that the DOB will issue:   A full SWO prohibits all work at the site, excluding any work

What is a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation and when is one needed? A NYC Place of Assembly Permit (PA) is a space that allows large groups of people to assemble at a given time for any activity.  If 75 persons or more are gathered indoors or 200 persons or more are gathered outdoors, a Place of Assembly Certificate of Compliance is needed.  Assembly places are found in restaurants, theaters, sporting arenas, schools, churches,

In New York City, tree planting is now a requirement because new building and enlargement filings must comply with zoning regulations. For every 25 feet of street frontage, 1 tree must be planted. If your lot has a frontage of 80 feet, you would divide that by 25. This calculation determines the number of trees required. In this example, you’d be required to plant three trees.  How to comply Tree planting application is filed with

Often when a unit owner or homeowner is about to sell their property, the title search turns up old permits or filings. These were done by previous owners. Such issues can hold up the closing. S&M can help with closing out old permits or filings. If this has happened to you, don’t despair.  There is a solution. Depending on the age of the filing, and if all permits required for the project were issued back then,