Board of Standards and Appeals

City board

The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) is a five-member panel that grants relief from the city's zoning and building rules. It hears appeals of determinations by the Department of Buildings and other agencies, and decides applications for variances and special permits where a strict application of the Zoning Resolution would prevent a reasonable use of a property. The Board was created in 1916, alongside the city's first Zoning Resolution. The City Charter requires its five commissioners to include a registered architect, a licensed professional engineer, and a professional city planner, each with at least ten years of experience, and no more than two may live in the same borough. The Mayor appoints the commissioners to six-year terms and designates the Chair and Vice-Chair. Courts give the Board's land-use decisions substantial deference.

Board members
5
Appointed by
Mayor
Composition required
A registered architect, a licensed professional engineer, and a professional city planner (10+ years each); no more than two from one borough
Term
6 years
Chair
Shampa Chanda
Established
1916

Board members (5)

Appointed by the Mayor.

Caseload by application type

How the BSA's docket breaks down. BZ are variances; appeals challenge a Department of Buildings determination; Special Order Calendar (SOC) matters amend, extend, or reopen a prior BSA grant.

How applications are decided

Dispositions across 10,805 applications on record. The BSA granted 83% of them.

Recent applications & decisions (50)

The most recently filed matters before the Board, newest first. Each links to the BSA's decision documents where available.

Sources