Guides
How to clear NYC permit & violation issues
The city's processes are slow, scattered, and easy to get wrong. Each guide walks the real steps — deadlines, forms, and fees — and shows how DailyDog makes it faster. No legal jargon.
For buildings & portfolios
How to reopen a defaulted OATH hearing before the 75-day window closes
A missed hearing becomes a default judgment at five times the standard penalty. You get one free do-over — if you act inside 75 days.
Read the guide →Paid the fine but the violation's still open? File a Certificate of Correction
Paying is not resolving. Until you certify the fix, the violation sits on your property and follows it into every transaction.
Read the guide →How to pay an ECB/OATH penalty (and why paying isn't resolving)
Unpaid ECB judgments accrue interest and can be docketed as liens. But paying the balance is only half the job.
Read the guide →How to appeal an OATH hearing decision (the 30-day window)
An appeal isn't for 'I don't want to pay.' It's for a specific mistake — and it's on a tight, pay-first clock.
Read the guide →How to renew an expired NYC work permit ($130 — PW2 vs DOB NOW)
An expired permit freezes your job: no inspection, no sign-off, no close-out — until you renew.
Read the guide →That open DOB job from years ago: sign it off, or withdraw it
Old open jobs don't close themselves. Your title company will find the one from 2016.
Read the guide →How to answer an OATH summons before the hearing (and avoid a default)
Never let a summons default. Answering before the hearing is the least expensive move you have.
Read the guide →How to protest your NYC property assessment (and when it's actually worth it)
Your property tax is set by one number on one January morning. The city gives you six weeks to argue with it — and last year it gave back nearly $4 billion in assessed value to owners who did.
Read the guide →For restaurants
How NYC restaurant letter grades actually work — scores, cycles, and the card in the window
The grade isn't a vibe — it's arithmetic. Every violation carries points, the points pick your grade, and your grade decides how soon the inspector comes back.
Read the guide →Grade Pending in the window: what it means and what to do next
Grade Pending isn't a grade — it's a hearing date. What you bring to that hearing decides whether a B becomes an A or hardens into place.
Read the guide →You got a DOHMH summons. Here's how the OATH hearing actually goes
The summons is not the fine. What you do between the kitchen door closing behind the inspector and the hearing date is what decides the number.
Read the guide →Closed by the Health Department: how to reopen, step by step
A closure costs every hour it lasts. The way back is boringly specific: fix the cited hazards, prove it, and pass the re-opening inspection — in that order.
Read the guide →Community reports on your restaurant — how to claim your page and dispute one
A community report is a diner's word, labeled as exactly that. It can nudge your score by a few points at most, it fades on its own, and if it's wrong you can put it in front of a person. Here's how.
Read the guide →For construction companies
Your company defaulted at OATH — the contractor's 75-day playbook
The summons went to a job-site trailer or an old mailing address, nobody appeared, and a $5,000 charge became a $25,000 judgment. You get one automatic do-over — if you move inside 75 days.
Read the guide →When unpaid OATH penalties freeze your DOB permits — the $25,000 rule
No hearing, no lawsuit, no warning letter — just a permit application that won't move. The threshold is $25,000, and defaults get you there five times faster.
Read the guide →Your construction superintendent was named personally on a summons
The company got four tickets and the super got one — with their own name, their own judgment, and their own registration on the line.
Read the guide →Start with your own record
See what's actually on file before you dig into any process. Free, no signup — buildings, restaurants, and contractors in turn.