A plan review is a detailed assessment of architectural, structural, and mechanical drawings before they go to the Department of Buildings. The point is simple: find what DOB would find, while it is still cheap to fix.
What we check
The 2022 Construction Codes govern fire resistance, accessibility, sustainability, and energy performance. On the zoning side we validate floor area ratio, lot coverage, permitted uses, egress routes, and setbacks. Environmental compliance covers stormwater and the Energy Code. Accessibility means ADA.
Projects that need a zoning lot merger, a special permit, or a variance get flagged here, not three months later.
Where plans fail
- Incomplete zoning analysis. The most common cause of an objection.
- Conflicting drawings. The architectural set says one thing, the mechanical set another.
- Fire protection errors — sprinkler zones, exit widths, travel distances.
- Accessibility oversights under ADA.
- Unverified site data.
How it runs
Document collection, then initial analysis, then a coordination meeting with your team. We issue a risk report. We prepare the filing. We stay on it through the objection cycle, including any CCD1 or ZRD1 reconsideration the review turns up.
What the 2022 codes changed
The 2022 Construction Codes took effect on November 7, 2022, with substantial revisions to administration, fire protection, elevator safety, accessibility, and resilience.
Energy and emissions are now central rather than peripheral. Your filing needs NYCECC reports, modeling output, and a Local Law 97 impact analysis.
Filing itself has gone digital. DOB NOW rejects on metadata and attachments as readily as on substance, so the audit has to cover both.
Beyond compliance
A good review does more than avoid rejection. It finds layout efficiency, sustainability upgrades that carry incentives, change orders you will not have to issue, and development potential you did not know the lot had.