What Is A Holiday Embargo & How Does it Affect Construction Permits in NYC?

 When the year is coming to a close in New York City, the holiday embargo begins. The construction embargo allows for holiday events on the roadways by reducing the impact of construction activity for citizens of the city. It only applies to certain streets when the DOT restricts most construction permits in NYC. Unless a special waiver is granted by the NYC Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination, work must be scaled back. Waivers are not required for DOT permits that already include a 410-permit stipulation. Before the holiday embargo commences on November 24th 2020, all construction in the affected areas must be made safe and maintained properly.

The NYC DOT construction permit applications are restricted, deadline to apply is October 31st, 2020 to apply for a holiday embargo waiver. This restriction ensures that the permits are issued to allow for accurate scheduling of construction projects and to prevent new work from starting during the embargo. Only in-person applications will be accepted during this time, and there is restricted approval except for particular circumstances.

The official 2020 Holiday Embargo has been released, see below:

******ATTENTION*****2020 HOLIDAY CONSTRUCTION EMBARGO*****ATTENTION*****
POSTED 9/23/2020 : A special Holiday Construction Embargo (HE) shall be in effect from 6AM to 11:59PM starting Tuesday, November 24, 2020 through Sunday, December 27, 2020.  Roadway and sidewalk construction activities will be restricted during the embargo period. Permit requests for construction activities during Holiday Embargo period should only be submitted for critical reasons for a specific project.
Please note, the deadline for submission of permit applications for work during the HE period, is Saturday, October 31, 2020.  Starting Sunday, November 1, 2020, submissions of permit applications for work on embargoed streets during the HE period will be denied.  More information on the Holiday Embargo can be found here:  https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/construction-embargoes.shtml#holiday-embargo.