If you tried visiting the NYC Department of Buildings’ Manhattan office on Friday, April 25, and found the doors closed early, you weren’t alone. All customer service windows and offices at 280 Broadway shut down at 1 PM that day.
This update is for anyone who may have missed the announcement or still has questions about what services were affected.
The early closure applied only to the 280 Broadway location. All other borough offices stayed open on their regular schedules. If you showed up in person after 1 PM in Manhattan, you wouldn’t have been able to access customer service desks or the Record Room.
Those services resumed normal hours on Monday, April 28.
No Record Pickups on April 25
If you were planning to pick up records from the Manhattan Record Room that Friday, you had to wait. The Record Room followed the same early closure and didn’t reopen until Monday.
Any pending or scheduled pickups would have been delayed until the next business day.
Online Services Were Still Available
Although the Manhattan office closed early, online DOB services remained available. You could still access DOB NOW or BIS to manage filings, view permits, or check building information.
If you missed your window for in-person help, online tools may have been your best bet.
Need Help With a Specific Request?
The DOB outlined clear instructions for urgent matters that couldn’t wait until Monday. If any of these apply to you, here’s where to send your request:
Unsafe Buildings (UB)
In-person survey fee payments had to be postponed. You can only pay these when the offices are open again. For UB-related questions, email:
📧 rrabinowitz@buildings.nyc.gov
Litigation Papers
If you needed to serve litigation papers during the closure, you were instructed to email:
📧 janeisser@buildings.nyc.gov
📧 amaggio@buildings.nyc.gov
Subpoenas
Subpoenas were accepted by email only. No payment was required with the message. Send them to:
📧 MaFrias@buildings.nyc.gov
📧 Hethomas@buildings.nyc.gov
FOIL Requests
Freedom of Information requests were not handled in person. Use the online portal instead:
🌐 NYC OpenRECORDS Portal
If you missed the April 25 closure notice and had urgent business, you’ll need to follow up using the contact details above. For in-person tasks, visit 280 Broadway during regular hours.
Want to avoid future surprises like this one? Keep an eye on DOB alerts or check their official site before making the trip.
