§ 2-02 Permits.
RCNY § 2-02
(a)Initial permit application. Public utilities or franchisees must apply for permits under their corporate name and not their sub-contractors' name. The following information shall be provided to the Department upon initial application for a permit under these rules and shall be updated as necessary and refiled annually: (1) If the applicant is a corporation, limited liability corporation, limited liability partnership or other entity registered with the New York Secretary of State: (i) address and telephone number of applicant; (ii) name and telephone number of a contact person in the event of an emergency; (iii) affidavit acknowledging incorporation and a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation, and proof of registration with the New York State Department of State, Office of the Secretary of State. When completing the permit application, applicants must supply the Department with the identical identifying information, including but not limited to the company name, as they have provided to the New York State Department of State, Office of the Secretary of State; (iv) names of corporate officers; (v) names of two agents/employees designated to receive summonses or notices of violation or other notices required by these rules or other provisions of law; (vi) New York City plumber's license certificate or other license numbers, if applicable; (vii) name(s) of representative(s) authorized to obtain permit(s) on behalf of the applicant; (viii) employer identification number; (ix) e-mail address, if any; and (x) insurance information, as set forth in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision (a).
(2)All other applicants: (i) address and telephone number of applicant; (ii) name(s) of representative(s) authorized to obtain permit(s) on behalf of the applicant; (iii) New York City plumber's license certificate or other license numbers, if applicable; (iv) employer identification number; (v) e-mail address, if any; (vi) names of two agents/employees designated to receive summonses or notices of violation or other notices required by these rules or other provisions of law; and (vii) insurance information, as set forth in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision (a).
(3)Insurance and indemnification requirements (for all applicants): (i) Each applicant shall, before applying for a permit, obtain a Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy or policies satisfying the requirements of this subparagraph and any self-insured or uninsured entity must provide coverage that satisfies the requirements of this subparagraph. All coverage, whether a CGL policy or as provided by a self-insured or uninsured entity must: (A) be issued by a company or companies that may lawfully issue the required policy and has an A.M. Best rating of at least A-7, a Standard and Poor's rating of at least A, a Moody's Investor's Service rating of at least A3, a Fitch Ratings rating of at least A-, or a similar rating by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization acceptable to the New York City Law Department unless prior written approval is obtained from the New York City Law Department; (B) provide coverage to protect the City of New York ("City"), and its officials and employees, and the applicant from claims for property damage and/or bodily injury, including death, which may, pursuant to a permit to be issued by the Department, including but not limited to a street opening permit, arise from any operations performed by or on behalf of the applicant, whether at, above, or below the surface of the street(s); (C) provide coverage at least as broad as that provided by the most recent edition of ISO Form CG 00 01; (D) provide coverage for completed operations; (E) provide coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and in the aggregate, with a products-completed operations aggregate of at least $1,000,000, except that with respect to applications for permits to place a crane on a street, such minimum amount shall be no less than $3,000,000 per occurrence and in the aggregate, with a products-completed operations aggregate of at least $3,000,000; (F) provide that the City and its officials and employees are Additional Insureds with coverage at least as broad as set forth in the most recent editions of ISO Form CG 20 26 and CG 20 37; (G) provide that the limit of coverage applicable to the Named Insured is equally applicable to the City and its officials and employees as Additional Insureds. (H) This policy shall not be cancelled or terminated, or modified or changed in a way that affects the City or its officials or employees by the issuing insurance company unless thirty (30) days prior written notice is sent to the Named Insured and the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, except that notice of termination for non-payment may be made on only ten (10) days written notice. (I) If the permit applicant has applied for more than one thousand permits in the previous calendar year, the insurance policy shall contain each of the following endorsements: (1) If and insofar as knowledge of an "occurrence", "claim", or "suit" is relevant to the City as Additional Insured under this policy, such knowledge by an agent, servant, official or employee of the City of New York will not be considered knowledge on the part of the City of the "occurrence", "claim", or "suit" unless notice thereof is received by the: Insurance Claims Specialist, Affirmative Litigation Division, New York City Law Department; and (2) Any notice, demand or other writing by or on behalf of the Named Insured to the insurance company shall also be deemed to be a notice, demand or other writing on behalf of the City and its officials and employees as Additional Insureds. Any response by the Insurance Company to such notice, demand or other writing shall be addressed to the Named Insured and to the City and its officials and employees at the following address: Insurance Claims Specialist, Affirmative Litigation Division, New York City Law Department, 100 Church Street, New York, New York 10007.
(ii)Each applicant shall, before applying for a permit, obtain Workers Compensation insurance in accordance with the laws of the State of New York from a licensed insurance company.
(iii)Each applicant shall, before applying for a permit, file with the Department proof that the applicant has insurance in place that provides coverage set forth in this subdivision with respect to the permit period. If the applicant chooses to meet this proof with an insurance certificate, the insurance certificate shall set forth the coverage provided, state that completed operations coverage is included and that the City is an additional insured, and shall be accompanied by a sworn statement in a form prescribed by the Department from the insurer or from a licensed insurance broker certifying that the insurance certificate is accurate in all material respects, and that the described insurance is in effect.
(iv)An applicant may obtain insurance policies applicable to more than one permit application, in which case the proof pursuant to subparagraph (iii) shall state that the policies cover all such permits in specified boroughs, or throughout the City.
(v)The applicant shall provide a copy of any required policy within thirty days of a request for such policy by the Department or the New York City Law Department.
(vi)In its sole discretion, the Department may allow applicants that frequently seek permits to self-insure, provided that the applicant: (A) presents proof of excess or umbrella CGL coverage applicable to its operations under such permits; (B) certifies that it has a self-insurance program in place that satisfies the requirements contained in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (3) and will continue it for the life of the permit and the Guarantee Period, as defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (16) of subdivision (e) of 34 RCNY § 2-11; (C) agrees to provide the same defense of any suit against the City and its officials and employees that alleges facts that bring the suit within the scope of the coverage required in subparagraph (i) as an insurer would be obligated to provide under the laws of New York; (D) submits a statement, signed by a person authorized to bind the applicant and acknowledged by a notary public, in which the applicant agrees to assume full liability for satisfying all obligations set forth in this subparagraph (vi), and (E) provides the Department with the name and address of the office or official of its self-insurance program who is responsible for satisfying the self insurance obligations.
(vii)The permittee shall maintain insurance throughout the Guarantee Period, as defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (16) of subdivision (e) of 34 RCNY § 2-11, satisfying the requirements in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (3) and providing coverage to protect the City and its officials and employees, the Department and the applicant from all claims for property damage and/or bodily injury, including death, which may arise from any defects discovered during such Guarantee Period.
(viii)The permittee shall notify in writing the CGL insurance carrier, and, where applicable, the worker's compensation and/or other insurance carrier, of any loss, damage, injury, or accident, and any claim or suit arising from any operations performed by or on behalf of the permittee for which the Department has issued it a permit, immediately, but not later than 20 days after such event. The permittee's notice to the CGL insurance carrier must expressly specify that "this notice is being given on behalf of the City of New York as Additional Insured as well as the Named Insured." The permittee's notice to the insurance carrier shall contain the following information: the name of the permittee, the number of the permittee, the date of the occurrence, the location (street address and borough) of the occurrence, and the identity of the persons or things injured, damaged or lost.
(ix)The permittee shall indemnify, defend and hold the City and its officials and employees harmless against any and all claims, liens, demands, judgments, penalties, fines, liabilities, settlements, damages, costs and expenses of whatever kind or nature (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and disbursements), known or unknown, contingent or otherwise, allegedly arising out of or in any way related to the operations of the permittee and/or its failure to comply with any of the requirements set forth herein or law. Insofar as the facts and law relating to any claim would preclude the City and its officials and employees from being completely indemnified by the permittee, the City and its officials and employees shall be partially indemnified by the permittee to the fullest extent provided by law.
(x)A failure by the City of New York or the Department to enforce any of the foregoing requirements shall not constitute a waiver of such requirement or any other requirement.
(xi)The applicant shall submit to the department proof of its insurance on fully-executed ACORD 25 and ACORD 855 forms, or equivalent forms containing the same information, regarding applicant’s insurance.
(4)Permit bonds.
(i)A permit bond shall be submitted by all permittees to the permit office at the time of permit issuance to cover all costs and expenses that may be incurred by the City as a result of the activity for which the permit is issued or for the purpose of otherwise safeguarding the interests of the City. The permit bond shall be in the form prescribed by the Department. Such permit bonds described above shall cover all permitted activities described herein.
(5)Deposits.
(b)General conditions for all permits.
(1)Permit applications for the following work shall be reviewed by OCMC prior to the issuance of permits: (i) work to be performed for sewer and water system construction; (ii) work to be performed in Manhattan; (iii) work required on primary and secondary arteries; (iv) permits to close streets; (v) any other activity deemed necessary by the Commissioner.
(c)Display of permits and signs at work site.
(d)Corrective action request (CAR).
(6)In the event that the original permit has expired before the corrective action is undertaken, a new permit, as noted on the CAR, shall be obtained in order to complete the required work. The new permit shall not affect the guarantee period, which will relate back to the original permit.
(7)Where a CAR relates to a violation of § 19-147 of the Administrative Code and no corrective action is taken within the applicable time or where an imminent danger to life or safety exists, the Department may perform the work required by a CAR or the work necessary to avert the danger and charge the cost to the person responsible for restoring, replacing or maintaining the pavement, sidewalk, curb, gutter or street hardware in accordance with such section.
(8)Notwithstanding the above, where a condition exists that creates an imminent danger to pedestrians or vehicles, the Department may issue a priority CAR, which shall require corrective action to be taken within three (3) hours of issuance of the CAR by telephone call. The Department may also issue a priority CAR via email requiring corrective action to be taken within three (3) hours of issuance; however, should a priority CAR be issued via email, a follow-up telephone call must also be placed to the permittee.
(9)In the event that a CAR is issued within the guarantee period, the corrective action shall still be taken even after the expiration of the guarantee period.
(e)Orders.
(f)Fees.
(g)Notice of street operations.
(h)Work site safety. All obstructions on the street shall be protected by barricades, fencing, railing with flags, lights, and/or signs, placed at proper intervals and at prescribed hours pursuant to 34 RCNY § 2-01.1. During twilight hours the flags shall be replaced with amber lights. Permittees shall also comply with any additional work site safety requirements set forth in these rules or in the permit.
(j)Suspension of application review. The Commissioner may suspend review of applications for permits pending: (1) payment by an applicant of outstanding fines, civil penalties or judgments imposed or entered against such applicant by a court or the environmental control board, (2) payment by an applicant of outstanding fees or other charges lawfully assessed by the Commissioner against such applicant pursuant to these rules or other applicable law and/or (3) satisfactory compliance by an applicant with a CAR or order issued by the Commissioner.
(k)Permit revocation and refusal to renew permit.
(l)Refusal to issue permit. The Commissioner may refuse to issue a permit to an applicant: (1) who has exhibited a pattern of disregard for the rules or orders of the Department or the terms or conditions of permits issued by the Department or for other applicable law, (2) who has been found liable by a court or in a proceeding before the environmental control board of a violation of a rule or order of the Department or the terms or conditions of a permit issued by the Department or other applicable law, which violation caused an imminent peril to life or property.
(m)Embargo periods.
(n)Voiding and reissuing of permits. Permits may be voided and reissued only within three business days of issuance. See 34 RCNY § 2-03 for the fee for reissuance. Permits reissued after three business days shall be subject to the full permit fee. (Amended City Record 7/8/2016, eff. 8/7/2016; amended City Record 7/20/2022, eff. 8/19/2022; amended City Record 6/26/2023, eff. 7/26/2023)
