NEII Insider 2021: Edition 11

New York City Department of Buildings FAIRER Program

New York City Department of Buildings has established a new temporary program called, FAIRER (Fines and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery). This program was authorized by Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council for three months to allow payors to resolve outstanding Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgements issued by city agencies and adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

This program is administered by the Department of Finance (DOF) and designed to alleviate penalties and interest associated with judgements. To participate you must pay your violations in full by December 20, 2021. For more information on how to participate in the FAIRER Program please visit this website.

New York State and New York City Licenses

Effective January 1, 2022, a new law that requires businesses and occupations that engage in design, construction, installation, inspection, testing, maintenance, alteration, service, and repair of elevators and other conveyances to be licensed by the New York State Department of Labor.

View the licensing details and the FAQs here.
To apply for a business license, click here and follow the directions.
To apply for an individual license, click here and follow the directions.

You can also opt-in to receive updates from the New York State Department of Labor directly here.

Also on January 1, 2022, a series of changes to elevator licensure in New York City will become effective. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) developed a presentation providing an overview of the changes to New York City licensing requirements here.

The DOB application process for agency directors, inspectors, and mechanics will open on December 11, 2021. To view the DOB service notice on elevator licensure and instructions on how to apply, click here.

Elevator and Escalator Safety Week

November 15-19, 2021 marked Elevator and Escalator Safety Week. NEII held a Safety Challenge quiz on our website and promoted it on our social media channels. Each participant earned a Safety Ambassador badge and were entered to win a gift certificate to Amazon.com. Our primary goals were to share safety features of building transportation equipment and other interesting facts and increase public awareness of the innovation and safety focus of our industry.

Stay up to date with NEII's initiatives by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

NYC Department of Buildings also honored Elevator and Escalator Safety Week by reminding all New Yorkers about proper elevator and escalator safety etiquette. See their safety tips here.

Code Development Update

Second Draft meetings for NFPA 70 National Electric Code (NEC) have concluded. These meetings were focused on finalizing changes for the 2023 edition of the NEC which is expected to be published late next year.

The online voting for the 2024 IBC Group A changes concluded this month. Final results should be available soon, but there were some updates related to elevators for Chapter 30.

Changes for the 2022 edition of ASME A17.1/CSA B44 are currently in the Public Review stage. The public review for the first group of changes has closed but additional changes will be sent for review in the near future.

The International Elevator & Escalator Symposium: The Future of Vertical Transportation in 2030

The International Elevator and Escalator Symposium (IEES) date has changed due to the Dutch Government enacting a three-week lockdown due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases across the country. This timing would affect the IEES so we will move the event to January 31 - February 1, 2022.

The 2021 International Elevator & Escalator Symposium (IEES) will be held in Amsterdam. This world-class, annual event brings together a global roster of top experts who present scholarly papers on the most important vertical transportation issues of the day. IEES is jointly presented by two fully independent, well-known organizations, Liftinstituut, B.V., and Elevator World, Inc.

See the program and register at elevatorsymposium.org.