NYC Stop-Work Orders: Current Penalties and Requirements to Resume Work

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

DOB’s current published civil penalties for violating a stop-work order are $6,000 for the first offense and $12,000 for subsequent offenses. These replace the older amounts previously stated here. Other violations and penalties may also apply. See DOB’s stop-work order guidance.

A full order stops work except authorized remedial work needed to make the site safe. A partial order restricts the work or area identified. Read the actual order and coordinate any permitted corrective work with the issuing unit; do not decide unilaterally that ordinary construction can continue.

Correction does not automatically rescind the order

Address the cited conditions, provide required correction documents, request reinspection, pay applicable civil penalties and obtain rescission from the issuing unit. For work stopped because no permit existed, obtaining a permit alone does not authorize resumption while the order remains in effect.

Owners and contractors should also document the effect on schedule and costs, give required contract notices and coordinate with design professionals. Handle OATH summonses, correction certification and removal of the stop-work order as related but distinct tasks.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with DOB enforcement and construction disputes. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice.

Underpinning a Neighbor’s Property: Resolve Access Before Work Begins

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

Do not treat a building permit as permission to occupy, enter or alter neighboring property. Underpinning and protective work require engineering review and a valid legal basis for the proposed access.

Negotiate a complete agreement

A written access agreement should identify the permitted work, drawings, access area, dates, inspections, monitoring, insurance, restoration, compensation and responsibility for damage. It should address whether any support or other installation will remain and what rights are actually being granted. Avoid informal permission that leaves the scope uncertain.

Consider the current court-access statute

When qualifying work cannot be performed in a commercially reasonable manner without entry and permission has been refused, RPAPL 881 permits a special proceeding in an appropriate case. The current statute expressly includes certain supports and underpinning required by code, regulation or local law. It also sets conditions concerning notice, documents, insurance, duration and compensation, and makes the licensee liable for actual damage caused by entry. State-entity property is subject to an exclusion.

Relief is not automatic and should not be assumed to authorize every permanent encroachment or proposed design. Analyze the requested work and any court order precisely. Starting without adequate access rights can cause injunctions, DOB enforcement, delay and additional expense; outcomes depend on the facts rather than an inevitable fixed penalty. Plan access early enough for negotiation or court proceedings.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with RPAPL 881 access proceedings. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice.

NYC Major Buildings: The Seven-Story or 75-Foot Threshold

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

New York City’s major-building definition changed effective December 11, 2024. For applicable initial permits and permit requests, the height triggers are an existing or proposed building with seven or more stories or a height of 75 feet or more. The old ten-story or 125-foot figures are no longer the general current threshold.

Additional triggers remain: a building footprint of 100,000 square feet or more regardless of height, or a DOB Commissioner designation based on unique construction or demolition hazards. See DOB’s official notice on Local Law 147 of 2021.

Check permit timing and the type of work

The notice applies the change to initial permits issued and initial permit requests submitted on or after December 11, 2024, and explains treatment of earlier filings whose initial permits had not been requested or issued. Do not classify a project using its application date alone.

Major-building status affects site-safety requirements, which must be evaluated for the particular work under Chapter 33 and applicable rules. The notice states that the change does not alter the separate façade-work site-safety trigger of more than 14 stories or 200 feet. Professional licensing qualifications and stop-work-order clearance requirements require their own review.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with construction compliance and project disputes. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice.