Valley Stream Owners: Clearing a DEP Asbestos Stop Work Order

Did a city inspector post an asbestos stop work order on your project? First, a point of geography: the Department of Environmental Protection issues these orders only within New York City. Work in Valley Stream and elsewhere in Nassau County falls under New York State asbestos rules instead. That said, lots of owners, landlords and builders based around here have projects in Queens, Brooklyn and the other boroughs, and a stop work order there can freeze a renovation, idle a crew and push back a closing. These orders typically follow asbestos work done without paperwork or without containment. Getting the order removed generally means filing what was missing, having a licensed contractor abate the material while the air is monitored, and then obtaining the agency's approval. Nobody honest can tell you how quickly DEP will review it, but we can make sure the asbestos side is complete, documented and ready for review. That means surveying the area, preparing the project notification, setting up containment, removing the material with wet methods, bagging it for permitted disposal and coordinating independent air monitoring throughout. Your expediter and general contractor get the documents they need, and you get a clear account of what remains before the order can be lifted.