FAIRER (Fines and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery) Program

New York City has established a temporary program allowing you to pay a reduced amount to resolve eligible Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgments issued by City agencies and adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

The FAIRER (Fines and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery) Program is a three-month program that allows respondents or payors to resolve outstanding Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgments. The program runs from September 20, 2021 through December 20, 2021.

The FAIRER Program covers two types of violations:

Violations that only require payment
Violations that require both payment and corrective action (also known as a compliance judgment)

A compliance judgment is a judgment arising out of a notice of violation that includes an order requiring the correction of the violation. A compliance judgment may be resolved under the FAIRER Program only if the issuing City agency issues a certificate of compliance or the Department of Finance receives an electronic record indicating compliance on or before the last day of the FAIRER Program period.

Reduction Amount

If you have unpaid OATH ECB judgments that are eligible for the FAIRER Program, you may be able to save up to 75% and have the penalties and interest associated with your judgments waived, depending on the type of judgment and when it was docketed.

Type of Judgment	Reduction Amount
Contains a Default Penalty for Not Attending a Hearing	Default Penalty and Interest
No Default Penalty and Entered judgment before March 7, 2020	25% of Base Fine and Interest
No Default Penalty and Entered judgment between March 7, 2020 and June 23, 2021	75% of Base Fine and Interest

The FAIRER Program will begin on September 20, 2021, and continue through December 20, 2021. To participate, you must pay your violations in full by December 20, 2021.

If your violation also required corrective action, DOF must receive a certificate of compliance from the issuing agency or electronic record indicating compliance before the last day of the FAIRER Program.

If you are unsure if the Department of Finance has received the electronic record of your certificate of compliance, please contact DOF.

Contact DOF.

To be eligible for the FAIRER Program, your violation must be in judgment. This means that the City has taken the legal step of filing a public record of your liability in court. Judgments that are docketed in court no later than June 23, 2021, may be eligible for the FAIRER Program.

The following types of judgments may be eligible for the FAIRER Program:

Judgments resulting from a default decision and order. For these judgments, eligible respondents or payors will pay only the base penalties. They will not have to pay default penalties or accrued interest.
Pre-pandemic judgments (judgments entered judgment before March 7, 2020). For these judgments, eligible respondents or payors will pay 75% of the imposed penalties and will not have to pay accrued interest.
Pandemic judgments (judgments entered judgment between March 7, 2020, and to June 23, 2021). For these judgments, eligible respondents or payors will pay 25% of the imposed penalties and will not have to pay accrued interest.

The following types of judgments are not eligible for the FAIRER Program:

The judgment had been the subject of an agreement with the Sheriff’s Office or a New York City marshal that was executed prior to the FAIRER Program.
A respondent or a payor fails to pay the amounts owed pursuant to the FAIRER Program by December 20, 2021.
The judgment is for a violation that is the subject of a criminal investigation.

To participate in the FAIRER Program, visit CityPay and click on Violations, Pay an ECB Violation.

Enter your name and address, violation number, or OATH ID number. (If you are a respondent and have received correspondence from the Department of Finance, your OATH ID number will appear on the correspondence.)

Your outstanding OATH-adjudicated ECB judgment violations will be listed, along with whether each violation is eligible for the FAIRER Program. You can select your eligible judgment(s), agree to the FAIRER Program terms and conditions, and pay the selected judgments in full.

A payment from a respondent or payor to resolve an outstanding judgment from a default decision and order under the FAIRER Program shall be deemed an admission of the liability for the violation that resulted in the default decision and order.

You must accept the FAIRER terms and conditions and make a payment at the same time in order to patriciate in the program.

Online

CityPay

In Person

You can pay your OATH-adjudicated ECB judgment violations in person at any DOF Business Center.

If your violation also required corrective action (Compliance Violation), DOF must receive a certificate of compliance from the issuing agency or electronic record indicating compliance before the last day of the FAIRER Program.

To learn how to correct your compliance violations or get proof of correction, contact the agency who issued your ticket.

Department of Buildings (DOB)

If you receive an Environmental Control Board (ECB) violation from the Department of Buildings (DOB), you must correct the violating condition in a timely manner and submit the following documents for proof of compliance:

An original Certificate of Correction (AEU-2 Form)
Proof of correction such as photographs or receipts
A notarized statement attesting to how the violation was corrected

Download an AEU-2 form.

You may submit the documents in person or by mail to:

New York City Department of Buildings
Administrative Enforcement Unit
280 Broadway, 1st Floor
New York, NY 10007
Attn: Class 1 Unit

You must correct Class 1 ECB (immediately hazardous) violations immediately. If the immediately hazardous condition is not corrected in a timely manner, you may be issued a DOB Violation with a $1500 civil penalty. The $1500 civil penalty is in addition to penalties assessed by ECB.

DOB will assist you with submitting a Certificate of Correction.

Call 311 for assistance.

Fire Department

If you receive a FDNY Summons, the unsafe condition must be corrected and proof of the correction must be provided to the FDNY.

To avoid penalty and a hearing, a condition must be corrected and a Certification of Correction must be received by FDNY within 35 days from the date the violation originally was issued. After 35 days, you will be required to appear for a hearing at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and must bring all proof of corrections to the hearings.

Please submit your proof of correction and Certification to:

By Email

Send to Curedesk@fdny.nyc.gov

By Mail

Bureau of Legal Affairs
Administrative Enforcement Unit
9 MetroTech Center, 1st Floor
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Further Assistance

Call 311 for assistance.

Bureau of Environmental Compliance

Call 311 for assistance.

Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)

If a Warning Letter has been issued for a landmark violation at your property, you should submit an application to LPC to address the condition. Usually Warning Letters are issued because work was performed either without an LPC permit or in noncompliance with an LPC permit. Do not ignore this letter, even if the violation predates your ownership or control of the property. If the Warning Letter is ignored, fines may be imposed.

Download an application.

Email application to: applications@lpc.nyc.gov

Further Assistance

If you have questions or are uncertain what to do, contact the Enforcement Department. Commission staff can answer questions and help with the process of addressing violations. The main goal of enforcement of the Landmarks Law is to have violations corrected and to protect our landmarks. Consequently, under most circumstances there are two grace periods for owners to correct violations without any fines.

By Email

Send a message to violations@lpc.nyc.gov

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

Get Help

Online

Contact DOF.

By Phone

Call 311 if you need more help.

FAIRER (Fines and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery) Program

Deadline

Eligibility

How to Participate

Proof of Correction

Get Help

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