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    SEP Self Certification Audit Unit Comes to Manhattan - Part I

    This is Part I of a two part article on the SEP. Part II will appear in our next newsletter.

    For the past couple of years, architects and engineers who Professionally Self Certified their Directive 14 applications in the outer boroughs lived to regret that decision due to an independent DOB unit located in the cellar of the Queens Building Department.

    The Special Enforcement Plan, initiated by former DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, created a number of specialized inspection units to police construction activity in New York City. One unit was created to monitor architects and engineers who filed and signed off Professionally Self Certified Directive 14 applications. This unit officially has a long title but is universally known as the SEP unit.

    The Professional Self Certification program started in the mid 90’s under commissioner Joel Miele and Rudy Guiliani, and was touted as the DOB’s response to speed up the plan approval process. Rather than the typical 2-3 weeks to get a Directive 14 application approved, an application could be approved under the new system in 2-3 days.

    The caveat was that the DOB reserved the right to audit the application any time after the permit was issued and the architect and owner committed to making any changes to the plans that the DOB dictated as per the audit – even if it meant modifying construction after the project was completed.

    The program was widely successful. The industry was happy because permits were being issued quickly. The DOB was happy because they were able to justify a reduction in staffing levels. It felt like a success.

    As the roaring 90’s surged into the supercharged new millennium, changes to the DOB led to cracks in the foundation of the program. The DOB trimmed its staff, making it impossible to audit the 20% of Self Certification filings that by statute, they were obligated to do. This led to cases of professionals and owners taking advantage of the situation, and actually filing and then building projects that violated the Code and zoning.

    The abuses started to pile up, sending a wake up call to the DOB. They responded by creating the Special Enforcement Plan. New staff was hired or transferred from traditional DOB units to this new Special unit.

    The SEP unit’s mandate was to get to the heart of the matter, and respond to alleged abuses by the licensed applicants who were supposedly signing off jobs that they should not have. The unit would get involved in a project only when the paperwork had been submitted requesting sign off of the application.

    SEP started with a straight-forward procedure. When a folder was submitted to the borough for sign off, it would get forwarded to the SEP unit. SEP would then assign an employee to make an unannounced inspection, to confirm that the built condition matches the approved plans.

    If the conditions did not match the plans, a violation would be issued and the folder referred to an SEP plan examiner to conduct a plan examination review and issue objections.

    On the surface the SEP procedure sounded innocuous enough. But as we’ve learned over the years, the outcome doesn’t always match the intentions of the plan. In the case of SEP, it has left us in an environment where self certification leads to the opposite result … possibly a longer timeline and more issues.

    So what happened along the way? There’s more to the story, and you’ll find it in next month’s newsletter.

    Posted By Austin Regan

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