Facade Amnesty Program Begins July 1 for Limited Time

The DOB’s Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) is offering an amnesty period beginning July 1, 2020. The amnesty period will give owners who didn’t file (No Report Filed - NRF) a Façade Report during Cycle 8 the opportunity to administratively close Cycle 8 with the Cycle 9 report. The Cycle 8 reporting period ended Feb. 20, 2020.

The amnesty program does not waive late fees, civil penalties, or ECB fines accrued for failure to file a report. All late fees, civil penalties, or ECB fines accrued for a failure to file during any previous cycles must be paid prior to or at the time of the filing. Also, if you already submitted your Cycle 8 FISP Report, you’ll still need to submit Cycle 9 based on your specific sub-cycle.

Here are the key details of the amnesty program you need to know:

• The Amnesty Program is available only for owners who failed to file their Cycle 8 Report.
• These owners will be allowed to file within the Cycle 9 reporting period regardless of their assigned Cycle 9 sub cycle filing period.
• The amnesty period will be effective from June through August.
• The standard filing fee is required for the submission of the Cycle 9 Façade Report. There is no filing fee required for the administrative closure of Cycle 8.
• The Amnesty Program is a safety initiative and may not be offered in future cycles.

It’s important to note that the DOB has implemented stricter facade inspection requirements and increased enforcement efforts pertaining to unsafe facades as a result of a pedestrian fatally struck by building debris in December 2019. For an overview of the changes implemented, see “How to Comply with DOB's Stricter Façade Inspection Requirements” from the March issue.