Message from the Executive Board

www1.nyc.gov/site/buildings/industry/licensed-plumbers.page 

This is the link to view all of the licensed plumbers who have been disciplined by the DOB. Recently, there has been a lot of activity on this page. Is this page a negative reflection of the industry? Are there good people on the list that haven’t really done a “bad thing”? Is the list missing “bad” people that do bad things and should be there? Are there people who are ignorant of the Code, or not paying attention, that are lucky to not be on the list?  

No matter how you look at it, the list is not a good place to be. Is it just a matter of time before your customers look at the list and possibly use it as an excuse not to hire you? Will one of your competitors use this list to hammer you every time they bid against your company?  

Some of the people on the list have made a willful decision to violate the Code for material gain. It was their business model. Some of the people make the list because they do not pay attention and still others have just been caught up in this mess of the DOB Now Inspection issues.  

While this may not make some people happy, the industry needs, and the MPC actually wants, a system in place that would punish anyone who has a high rate of applications rejected. What we demand is a system in place that both clearly defines what that high rate is but also is a Code based, published and transparent system. The system should be set up so that when a permit is issued all required inspections are listed. You should not be able to do the inspections out of sequence. All required forms should also be listed and the DOB must create templates of these forms that list the minimal amount of information that will be accepted. Unfortunately, this system does not presently exist and, for that reason, the issuance of these violations should be suspended until it does.  

We have reviewed the “evidence” provided for some of these cases. We have seen some where the sign off rejections were for documents that were either not submitted or incorrect. The new version of DOB Now Inspections is not supposed to issue a rejection for these issues, but provide the licensee with the opportunity to upload a new or corrected document to resolve the objection. We are not sure why any of these requests were denied outright. We hear rumors that not all Boroughs are following this published procedure in all cases. We are also hearing that when the DOB rejects a job in error, that they are making the licensee call them up rather than send an email to explain what the error was. There is no transparency in that and we are addressing that issue.  

We are ready to work with the DOB to make this system more workable and to reduce the failure rate. It will require Code changes, which are already in progress, as well as some Rule changes or orders. All of the basic requirements are in place, so this could be done relatively quickly. As we wrote in the prior updates that in our business world, if someone failed fifty percent of the time we would fire them. If their replacement continued to fail at the same rate, we would eventually be forced to look inside to see if our system is the problem. We intend to try to cast a light on the real issues that causes such a high failure rate. The MPC never goes to the DOB with a problem without having a viable solution to fix it. This case is no different.  

In the interim, as always, please pay extra attention to your submissions. Weigh what the costs of delays in obtaining retainage are, versus 4-16K to mitigate an action taken by the DOB and the future stigma such an action may take. Add contract language and/or refuse to sign contract language that doesn’t protect you against items beyond your control, such as incorrect plans and documents (Schedule B). Don’t submit for a sign-off or gas authorization if there are unresolved comments that may cause a rejection. Have an issue with a comment? You know where to find us.  

We have been receiving complaints from our Committee Members regarding some members who are utilizing the MPC helping members email system. The issues are addressed in the next section. Please read it.  

Also, please see the section about the license board, as it has very relevant information.