The project constructed three (3) “COVID-19 Centers of Excellence” that are established in privately-owned buildings under a lease with NYC Health + Hospitals. The purpose of these facilities is to provide outpatient medical services to newly infected patients and to provide long term care to those who have recovered from COVID-19 but are experiencing lasting adverse health effects from the virus.

- Brooklyn: This Center of Excellence is located in Bushwick (815 Broadway), and it consists of approximately 52,000 SF distributed among five (5) stories plus a mezzanine and a cellar.

- Queens: This Center of Excellence is located in Elmhurst (71-17 Roosevelt Avenue), and it consists of approximately 29,000 SF of space located on the second floor.

- The Bronx: This Center of Excellence is located in Tremont (4215 Park Avenue), and it consists of approximately 21,236 SF of ground floor retail space at the corner of the building.

NERIS performed construction permit expediting services including: General Construction, Structural, Plumbing, Sprinkler, Medical Gas, Emergency Generator, Fuel Oil Storage and Mechanical Department of Buildings (DOB) Work Permits, 24/7 After Hour Variance Permits, and Department of Transportation (DOT) lane closure and sidewalk permits.

NERIS greatly accelerated the normally lengthy approval process that DOB, DOT, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and sub-agencies (NYC Transit & Long Island Railroad) requires through proactive, persistent, and knowledgeable interactions with agency senior staff for coordination of the required work. NERIS was able to navigate the agency hierarchies to prevent this approval process from delaying the project schedule and removing it from the critical path. Because NERIS has intimate knowledge with decision-makers within these agencies, we were able to fulfill the often immediate and direct communication demands this high-priority project required.

Specific project challenges NERIS overcame include working through New York City’s “Pause” when only Essential Construction Projects were permitted to proceed, DOB’s wholesale shift to a completely on-line, virtual permitting process (eFiling, HUB, and DOB NOW), and the associated technical problems and bugs that new systems often have. NERIS has direct lines of communication to DOB support staff which enabled us to work through any issue that arose while increasing our profile and reputation within the DOB.

The considerable construction experience that NERIS has enabled us to perform efficient and thorough reviews of the Architect and Engineer’s drawings and plans from the perspective of the reviewing agencies such as DOB, DOT, and the Fire Department of New York. This greatly reduced the iterations of unnecessary permit drawing/document revisions and improved the quality of agency permit set submissions, saving the client’s budget and schedule.