The City of New York has established the NYC Restoration Business Acceleration Team (RBAT) to assist businesses affected by Superstorm Sandy by coordinating the services, permitting and inspections needed to reopen as soon as possible. RBAT builds upon the expertise of the New Business Acceleration Team (NBAT) which has helped more than 1,000 businesses employing more than 10,000 people open more quickly—in many instances cutting in half the time required to open their doors.  To date, RBAT has directly assisted 40 businesses. RBAT client managers serve as a single point-of-contact for impacted businesses, providing necessary information, coordinating scheduling with safety and regulatory agencies, and troubleshooting problems.  

What Services Will RBAT Provide?

Client Management. Impacted businesses will be assigned a client manager who will help evaluate their situation and guide them through the steps needed to meet requirements to re-open. The client manager will serve as a business owner’s point person with the City, helping to answer questions, coordinate and expedite inspections and other interactions with a variety of City Agencies. Client managers will facilitate interactions with the following agencies:

• Department of Buildings
• Department of Consumer Affairs
• Department of Environmental Protection
• Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
• Department of Sanitation
• Department of Small Business Services
• Department of Transportation
• Fire Department
• Landmarks Preservation Commission
• Office of People with Disabilities
• Public Utilities

Inspections / Site Visits. Impacted businesses can request a site visit where personnel from critical Agencies walk through an establishment and outline measures needed to bring the establishment back into compliance with government rules and regulations.  Client managers will refer and coordinate site visits and inspections including:

• Department of Buildings: to determine whether the structural integrity of a location has been compromised and advise what safety measures need to be taken to bring it into compliance.
• Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: to provide guidance on maintaining sanitary and safe operations. For severely impacted businesses, staff will instruct businesses on steps required to re-open.
• Fire Department: to review Building and Fire Code requirements for the installation of fire alarm systems, independent exhaust systems for commercial cooking equipment producing smoke and grease-laden vapors or fumes, and to inspect combustible materials or equipment stored on the premises to ensure adequate safety measures are in place to prevent fires.
• Department of Environmental Protection: to ensure the integrity of existing grease interceptors and to prevent backups into a location or public water sources.

Plan Examination. Severely impacted businesses requiring substantial rebuilding will often need to submit drawings for plan review and permit issuance. Accelerated plan review will be conducted by RBAT-assigned plan examiners for the following:

• Department of Buildings plan review of construction drawings to determine if the proposed work meets Building Code standards
• Fire Department plan review of fire alarm and fire suppression drawings to determine if the proposed installation meets Fire Code standards.

Contact RBAT by calling (212) 788-6722 or completing and emailing this Superstorm Sandy form to  nbat@nbat.nyc.gov.

Click here to access the NYC Re-Starter guide, a guide to important information about re-opening your business.

Get information on federal, State and local resources for restoration here.