New York has 157 historic districts and extensions and more than 38,000 protected properties. In Manhattan, about 1,665 tax lots with buildings of seven or more floors sit inside historic districts. That's about 22% of the borough's tall buildings. If yours is one of them, our landmark restoration page explains how we work alongside your architect. This article is about the permits, the matching and the calendar.

Which LPC permit does your façade work need?

Permit When it applies Typical façade example
Certificate of No Effect Work that needs a DOB permit and doesn't affect protected architectural features Façade restoration under Local Law 11
Permit for Minor Work Exterior work that doesn't need a DOB permit and is restorative or appropriate Repointing, brick replacement, cleaning
Certificate of Appropriateness Work that changes significant features, or doesn't meet LPC's rules Re-cladding, new openings, a change of material

The first two are issued at staff level. A Certificate of Appropriateness for significant changes goes to the Commission itself, which approves it after a public hearing. When a proposal falls outside LPC's rules, staff may suggest changes that bring it back inside them. If it still doesn't fit, it goes to a hearing.

Your architect or engineer usually prepares the application, files it through LPC's online portal and confirms which permit applies.

What work doesn't need an LPC permit?

LPC's Permit Guidebook exempts certain emergency repairs and minor maintenance, including:

  • temporarily boarding up windows and doors
  • installing tarps or protective coverings at holes in walls or roofs
  • removing broken or dislodged façade elements that pose an immediate threat to occupants or the public
  • replacing broken window glass and hardware in kind
  • repainting in a color that matches the existing color
  • replacing caulk around windows and doors
  • replacing broken gutters and leaders in kind
  • cleaning sidewalks, storefronts and façade elements with low-pressure water washing

Most FISP repairs aren't on that list. Repointing, brick replacement, stone patching and terra cotta work all need a permit.

What happens when something is about to fall?

Make it safe first. Protection goes up and loose material comes down without waiting on LPC. The guidebook does attach a condition to removing dislodged elements: historic features should be salvaged and kept on site for repair or replication, and LPC staff should be notified immediately so they can help with the application for permanent repairs. The permanent repair still needs a permit.

If your QEWI files Unsafe, the 90-day correction clock starts at filing, landmark or not. An extension of up to 90 days is available for a $305 fee with documentation. Get the LPC application in early, and keep the paper trail your QEWI will need to support an extension. More on Unsafe façade repairs.

How do matches and mockups work?

LPC's staff-level criteria are specific about materials:

  • Mortar must match the original in color and tooling (the joint profile). Samples of the new mortar go in next to clean original mortar so the match can be checked. (Separately, good practice on older buildings is a mortar softer than the masonry, so the joint gives before the brick or stone does.)
  • Brick must be replaced in kind. Substitute materials aren't permitted.
  • Terra cotta at or below the sixth story of the primary façade is replaced in kind, with substitutes allowed only in limited cases. Terra cotta: repair, replace or GFRC? walks through the options.
  • Stone can be patched or replaced, with substitutes limited to cases like coping and projecting elements with weight or attachment problems. Individual landmarks are held to a stricter standard.

Once the permit is issued, LPC staff must review and approve any samples they've asked for before that part of the work starts. Many applicants send photographs through the portal. On a façade, we'd rather put up an on-site mockup beside the original: it's the most reliable way to judge color and texture, because a sample on a table never looks quite like a wall in daylight.

Then there's the weather. LPC permits typically allow patching and repointing only when the temperature stays at 45°F or above for 72 hours.

How do you fit LPC timing around FISP deadlines?

LPC works on its own timetable, and no contractor can promise you an approval or a date. What you control is how ready the application is and how much slack the schedule has.

  1. Start from the FISP calendar. Know your sub-cycle window and any Unsafe correction date. Repair prior-cycle SWARMP items before your QEWI's final inspection, or they're filed Unsafe with a $2,000 penalty. See your Cycle 10 dates.
  2. Work backward. QEWI report first, then drawings and repair specifications, then the LPC application with samples, then DOB permits, then mockups and the work itself.
  3. Submit a complete application. Include photographs, drawings, repair methods and material samples. An incomplete application comes back with questions, and that back-and-forth is where most of the time goes.
  4. Keep urgent repairs apart from bigger changes. If the board is also weighing re-cladding or new windows, put those on a separate track. A hearing-level proposal should never hold up the staff-level repairs your deadline depends on.
  5. Plan around the temperature rule. If LPC review pushes masonry into winter, the work may have to wait until spring.

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Your architect and LPC staff confirm which permit and criteria apply to your building.