Section 645. Offices of the department; powers and duties

(a) There shall
  be a main office of the department and in  each  borough  at  least  one
  branch  office  and  a  borough  superintendent.  Persons  appointed  as
  inspectors to perform  functions  of  the  department  shall  have  such
  qualifications  as  shall  be prescribed by the commissioner of citywide
  administrative  services  after  consultation  with  the   commissioner;
  provided however that such qualifications shall include:
    (1)  a  minimum  of  five  years  acceptable  experience  working at a
  construction trade; or
    (2) a license as a professional engineer or architect issued  pursuant
  to the education law; or
    (3)  a  minimum  of  three years of acceptable experience working at a
  construction trade and a minimum of two  years  of  formal  training  or
  education  in  an  acceptable  construction program, with an emphasis on
  construction, in a college, technical school or trade school; or
    (4) a minimum of two years  of  acceptable  experience  working  at  a
  construction  trade  or  a  minimum  of  two years of formal training or
  education in an acceptable construction program,  with  an  emphasis  on
  construction,  at  a  college,  trade  school  or technical school and a
  minimum of three years participation in an apprentice inspection program
  approved  by  the  commissioner  and  the   commissioner   of   citywide
  administrative services.
    (b)   With respect to buildings and structures, the commissioner shall
  have the following powers and duties exclusively, subject to review only
  by the board of standards and appeals as provided by law:
    (1)  to examine and approve or disapprove plans for  the  construction
  or  alteration  of any building or structure, including the installation
  or alteration of any  service  equipment  therein,  and  to  direct  the
  inspection  of  such  building  or  structure, and the service equipment
  therein, in the course of construction, installation or alteration;
    (2)  to require that the construction or alteration of any building or
  structure, including the  installation  or  alteration  of  any  service
  equipment therein, shall be in accordance with the provisions of law and
  the rules, regulations and orders applicable thereto; but where there is
  a  practical  difficulty in the way of carrying out the strict letter of
  any provision of law relating to buildings in  respect  to  the  use  of
  prescribed  materials,  or  the  installation  or  alteration of service
  equipment, or methods of construction and where equally safe and  proper
  materials  or  forms of construction may be employed in a specific case,
  he  may  permit  the  use  of  such  materials  or  of  such  forms   of
  construction,  provided  that  the  spirit of the law shall be observed,
  safety secured and substantial justice done, but he shall have no  power
  to  allow  any  variance  from  the provisions of any law in any respect
  except as expressly allowed therein, or from any appellate ruling of the
  board of standards and appeals;
    (3)  to issue certificates of occupancy for any building or  structure
  situated in the city, provided that:
    a.  no  building or structure hereafter constructed may be occupied or
  used in whole or  in  part  for  any  purpose  until  a  certificate  of
  occupancy has been issued;
    b.    no building or structure or part thereof for which a certificate
  of occupancy has  not  been  previously  issued  or  required  shall  be
  occupied  or  used  for any purpose whatever in case such building shall
  hereafter be altered or converted so as  to  decrease  or  increase  the
  number  of  living rooms or apartments, until a certificate of occupancy
  has been issued, except that this requirement shall not apply to any old
  law or new law tenement wherein two  or  more  apartments  are  combined
  creating  larger  residential  units, the total legal number of families

  within the building is being decreased, and the bulk of the building  is
  not being increased;
    c.    no  buildings  hereafter  altered or converted from one class to
  another class shall be occupied or used for any purpose whatever in case
  such building was vacant during  the  progress  of  the  work,  until  a
  certificate  of  occupancy  has been issued;  in case such an alteration
  does not necessitate the vacating of the building during the progress of
  the work, the occupancy or use of the building shall not  continue  more
  than  thirty  days  after  the  completion  of such alteration, unless a
  certificate of occupancy has been issued;
    d.   a certificate of occupancy  of  a  building  or  structure  shall
  certify  that such building or structure conforms to the requirements of
  all laws, rules, regulations and orders applicable to it and shall be in
  such form as the commissioner shall direct;
    e.  every certificate of occupancy shall, unless and until set  aside,
  vacated  or modified by the board of standards and appeals or a court of
  competent jurisdiction, be and remain binding and  conclusive  upon  all
  agencies  and  officers of the city, and shall be binding and conclusive
  upon the department of labor of the state of New York, as to all matters
  therein set forth, and no order, direction or requirement  affecting  or
  at  variance  with  any matter set forth in any certificate of occupancy
  shall be made or issued by any agency or officer of the city, or by  the
  department  of labor of the state of New York, or any commission, board,
  officer or member thereof, unless  and  until  the  certificate  is  set
  aside,  vacated  or  modified by the board of standards and appeals or a
  court of competent jurisdiction upon  the  application  of  the  agency,
  department,  commission,  officer  or  member thereof seeking to make or
  issue such order, direction or requirement.  All such applications shall
  be made in writing and  filed  with  the  board  or  court  for  hearing
  thereon;   and  copies  of  the  application  and  order,  direction  or
  requirement sought to be made or issued shall be served upon  the  owner
  of  the building or structure and upon the commissioner of buildings, if
  he is not the applicant, and  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  to
  service,  notice,  time and place of hearing as the board or court shall
  direct;
    f.  the commissioner may, on request of the owner  of  a  building  or
  structure   or   his   authorized   representative,  issue  a  temporary
  certificate of occupancy for any part  of  such  building  or  structure
  provided  that  such  temporary  occupancy  or  use would not in any way
  jeopardize life or property;
    g.   the commissioner may permit in  specific  cases  experimental  or
  demonstration  construction  not in compliance with the building code in
  order to obtain  knowledge  and  information  not  supplied  from  other
  experiments  within  the  city;    the  owner of such construction shall
  conduct such periodic tests and  evaluations  as  the  commissioner  may
  specify and submit results and reports to the department of buildings as
  the   commissioner  may  require;    except  as  otherwise  specifically
  permitted by the commissioner, the construction  shall  be  erected  and
  maintained  in  accordance with all provisions of applicable laws, rules
  and regulations.
    (c)   The commissioner may, by instrument  in  writing  filed  in  the
  department,  designate  a  borough  superintendent  of the department to
  possess within a borough any of the powers granted to  the  commissioner
  by  subdivision (b) of this section and to exercise the same within such
  borough in the name of the commissioner for such times  and  under  such
  conditions  as  he  may specify.   The borough superintendent shall also
  perform such other duties as the commissioner may direct.

    (d) The commissioner shall review and certify any proposed subdivision
  of a zoning lot with any building thereon, in order to ensure  that  the
  subdivision  will  not  result in any violation of the applicable zoning
  laws.
    For  such  purposes,  the  subdivision  applicant  shall file with the
  commissioner, prior to recordation with the city register or the  county
  clerk in the case of Staten Island the following:
    (1)  a  subdivision  map  of  the  entire original zoning lot with any
  building thereon; and
    (2) a statement by the subdivision applicant  assuring  compliance  of
  the proposed subdivision with applicable zoning laws.