Strengthened New York City Law May Give a Red Light to Greenhouses

Oct. 27, 2014 — You might think that in a city where space for gardens and greenery is like the Holy Grail, greenhouses would add a lot of value to a co-op or condo unit. And you'd be right, so long as those greenhouses are waterproofed, installed properly, registered with Department of Buildings and issued permits as permanent structures.

But The New York Times reports that many of them don’t pass muster. To complicate matters further, the DOB next year plans to amend the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), also known as Local Law 11, so that any "additional heated or cooled space made by a permanent balcony or terrace enclosure will be considered noncompliant if it doesn't have a permit."

Buildings won't necessarily be penalized for noncompliant balcony or terrace enclosures — co-op boards will be given the chance to either make offending enclosures legal or get rid of them altogether. But it still means having to wade through a lot of paperwork and angry greenhouse-owning shareholders and unit-owners — particularly in cases where the enclosures have to come down.