Did you know that Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) are required to file periodic compliance reports?  Read on to learn more about these documents and their required components.

 

 

Any property that received bonus floor area for providing a Privately Owned Public Space (POPS) is required to submit a periodic compliance report to the Director of the Department of City Planning and the Community Board in which the POPS space is located.  The purpose of this report is to indicate that the space is still in compliance with POPS space regulations.

 

 

 

An inspection must be conducted prior to the release the report as a way of verifying the current conditions of the space.  This inspection is required to be completed no earlier than May 15 of the year that the report is filed.  The reports themselves are due every three years on June 30, starting the third calendar year after the POPS space was certified. 

 

 

According to the Zoning Resolution (ZR 37-78b), the following items are required to be included in the report:

 

(1) a copy of the original public plaza or design change certification letter and, if applicable, any approval letter pertaining to any other authorization or certification pursuant to this Chapter;

 

(2) a statement that the publicly accessible open area has been inspected by such registered architect, landscape architect or professional engineer and that such open area is in full compliance with the regulations under which it was approved as well as the approved plans pertaining to such open area and, if applicable, the requirements of any other authorization or certification pursuant to this Chapter, or noncompliance with such regulations and plans;

 

(3) an inventory list of amenities required under the regulations under which the publicly accessible open area was approved and the approved plans pertaining to such open area and, if applicable, the requirements of any other authorization or certification pursuant to Section 37-70, together with an identification of any amenity on such inventory list for which inspection did not show compliance, including whether such amenities are in working order, and a description of the noncompliance;

 

(4) photographs documenting the condition of the publicly accessible open area at the time of inspection, sufficient to indicate the presence or absence, either full or partial, of the amenities on the inventory list of amenities. 

 

 

If a report is not submitted as required, or does not meet the above requirements, the penalties can be serious. Failure to comply can result in the denial or revocation of a building permit or Certificate of Occupancy.