Manhattan Renovations: Alteration or Alteration-CO Filing?

Two Manhattan owners can file for work that looks almost identical on paper, a new kitchen, some relocated walls, a reworked bathroom, and end up on very different paths at the Department of Buildings. One gets an ordinary Alteration permit. The other is routed into an Alteration-CO job that ends with a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy. The difference rarely comes down to cost or size. It comes down to what the finished space will legally be, and how people will get out of it.

The old Alt-1 and Alt-2 labels, translated

Many Manhattan owners, managing agents and co-op boards still talk about an "Alt-1" or an "Alt-2." Those were job types in the Department's older BIS filing system. DOB's own guide to job types in DOB NOW maps them this way: the former Alteration Type 1 now corresponds to Alteration CO (ALT-CO), while the former Alteration Type 2 and Type 3 both correspond to a plain Alteration. If your board's alteration agreement or your lender's checklist still uses the old names, that mapping is the quickest way to translate it.

The five questions that decide the job type

DOB NOW does not leave the choice to the applicant's preference. The job type is determined by a series of screening questions, and a "yes" to any one of them points the job to Alteration CO. In plain terms, the questions ask whether the work:

• is required to meet New Building requirements
• is inconsistent with the building's current Certificate of Occupancy
• changes the occupancy or use of the space
• makes a major change to exits
• changes the number of stories

If every answer is no, the project is generally filed as an Alteration. This is why the existing Certificate of Occupancy matters so much: the second question cannot be answered without reading it.

Manhattan scenarios that tend to tip into Alteration-CO

A few situations come up again and again in Manhattan buildings:

Ground-floor retail becoming something else

Turning a storefront into a restaurant, a fitness studio, a medical office or a residential unit is a change of use or occupancy. Even when the construction is modest, the legal classification of the space changes, and the CO has to follow.

Loft and mixed-use buildings

Older loft buildings often carry COs describing uses that no longer match how floors are actually occupied. Renovating a floor so that it matches the real, intended use can make the work inconsistent with the current CO, even if the owner thinks of it as "just a renovation."

Duplexing, combining or splitting units

Combining two apartments, adding an interior stair between floors, or splitting a large unit can change the number of dwelling units and the way occupants exit. Whether that amounts to a major change to exits is a technical judgment that a registered design professional should make against the 2022 NYC Construction Codes, not something to guess at on the application.

Rooftop and penthouse work

Anything that adds a story or turns a roof into occupied space squarely raises the stories and occupancy questions.

What changes once you are on the Alteration-CO path

DOB describes alteration projects that result in a new CO as high-risk projects that call for thorough review. Practically, owners should expect the same final destination the Department describes for these jobs: special inspection certifications, progress inspections, and final DOB inspections required before a certificate of occupancy is issued. The Department is also clear that no one may legally occupy a building until a final CO or a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy has been issued, which matters a great deal if a tenant or buyer is waiting on the space. Schedules on these jobs depend on plan review, inspections and sign-offs, so it is wise to build slack into any lease or closing date rather than assume a timeline.

Documents worth gathering before anyone draws a line

The fastest way to lose time on a Manhattan filing is to discover a record problem after drawings are done. Before design starts, pull together:

• The current Certificate of Occupancy. DOB says COs issued before March 1, 2021 are found in BIS under "View Certificates of Occupancy," and later ones through the DOB NOW property profile page.
• A Letter of No Objection or proof of legal use if the building predates 1938 and has no CO. DOB notes older buildings are not automatically required to have a CO unless later work changed their use, egress or type of occupancy.
• Existing condition drawings or surveys showing exits, stairs and occupied floors as they actually are.
• Open DOB and ECB violations and open permits on the building, since old jobs can complicate a new filing.
• Landmark status. Many Manhattan buildings sit in historic districts, and LPC approval is needed for work that requires a DOB permit.
• Board and owner authorizations, including a co-op or condo alteration agreement where one applies.

Choosing the right path from the start

Filing an Alteration when the work really belongs in an Alteration-CO does not save time. It tends to surface later as an objection, an amended filing, or a CO that no longer matches the building, which then becomes a problem at refinancing or sale. The better approach is to answer the five screening questions honestly at the scoping stage, with the CO in hand and the intended use written down. The 2022 construction codes are published on the DOB 2022 Construction Codes page, and DOB's Certificate of Occupancy page explains how to find and read the CO you already have.

AM Expediting Drafting & Design Works LLC reviews Certificates of Occupancy, prepares filing drawings and handles DOB NOW Alteration and Alteration-CO filings for owners, tenants and managing agents across Manhattan. If you are not sure which path your renovation belongs on, call us at (718) 971-0617 and we will walk through the building records with you before you commit to a design.

AM Expediting Drafting & Design Works LLC · 86-47 125th Street, Richmond Hill, NY 11418 · (718) 971-0617 · Serving Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.