Proposed Amendments to Highway Rules

Online comments: 3

• David Balkan

  Good afternoon,

  My name is David Balkan. I am the CEO of Balkan Sewer and Water Main Service located in Richmond Hill, Queens. We operate in all five boroughs and are the largest water main and sewer company in New York City, and have been since the late 1980’s. Our business serves the general public by performing house sewer and water service line work. If you’ve seen a truck covered in a yellow bee logo, that’s us!

  I personally have over 45 years of experience in this industry. In addition to running my own business, I have served in industry associations in various capacities over the past decades. I am currently the Vice President of the Subsurface Plumbers Association and Chairperson the Subsurface Committee of The Master Plumbers Council

  With that said, I am here to address and share my expertise and address a proposed rule change that I view as the most detrimental proposed rule change that I have been exposed to in all these many years. I’ve included in my written testimony the proposed rule change language, which I’ve bolded, and I will read for everyone now:

  A backfill, base, or wearing course may not be installed under an emergency permit number at any time, unless explicitly directed by the Department.

  Note: The ability to backfill and restore disturbed surfaces is being eliminated.

  The rule in its entirety:

  § 11. Subparagraphs (ii) and (xiii) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of section 2-11 of chapter 2 of Title 34 of the Rules of the City of New York are amended to read as follows:

  (ii) A permittee [shall]must perform emergency work on an around-the-clock basis until the emergency is eliminated, unless otherwise directed by the Commissioner. Once the Page 8 of 12 emergency is eliminated and made safe [on a critical roadway listed in subdivision (c) of 34 RCNY § 2-07], the permittee [shall]must suspend work, [restore the full width of the roadway and resume work, if necessary, during the nonrestricted hours indicated in that subdivision] and plate or barricade the restoration, except during a holiday embargo. [Such resumption of work shall only be undertaken within the 48-hour duration of the emergency permit number. A permittee working with an emergency number on a roadway other than a critical roadway may suspend or resume work at any time within the 48-hour period covered by the emergency number.] Work must not be resumed until the permittee has been issued a Street Opening Permit by the Department.

  A backfill, base, or wearing course may not be installed under an emergency permit number at any time, unless explicitly directed by the Department.

  As a reference, DOT Emergency Permits have been obtained and utilized by virtually all DOT Permittees, the NYC DEP included, for decades. The DOT Emergency Permit has allowed for securing permits electronically (over the internet) to provide a timely response to any condition legally defined as an emergency. This Emergency Permit likewise allows for the seamless start and completion of repairs, which includes excavation, repairs, backfill, road base, and/or sidewalk cement restoration. Work was allowed to continue to conclusion as long as workers remained on the work site.

  A recent personal example is an emergency job we performed for a building in the heart of the financial district that lost water for their fire protection system. Under the current DOT Emergency Permit system, we worked around the clock for five days, restored the fire service, and restored the concrete roadway as well. All in time for business as usual for all New Yorkers to start a Monday work week. This desired end result would be eliminated with the proposed new rule change. There are literally thousands of examples of work each year, such as this one, where trucking away excavated material, dropping road plates, and having to remobilize are presently not necessary, and should not be.

  The fact that all aspects of the job could be performed in a seamless manner (including backfill, and certain aspects of the restoration) limited all concerned parties to exposure from open holes, plated holes, potential washouts, utility damage from open holes, and basement flooding from water infiltration due to open holes. A seemingly ideal outcome for all New Yorkers.

  It should be noted that the DOT hard copy permit that would be required by this rule change to perform backfill and associated restoration takes the DOT anywhere from 2 days to over 2 weeks to generate. In my experience, we generally wait 2 to 3 days on non-critical roadways. This would leave open holes on both secondary roads and sidewalks, and primary roads and sidewalks for great lengths of time.

  Commonsense and good logic would seem to indicate that the current system is ideal in terms of limited liabilities to property owners, pedestrians, motorists, utility stakeholders, and the DOT itself. It is also, very clearly, the safest option for business owners, their clients, and the general public.

  From what I can see, there is no stated purpose for this proposed change, which would have dire impacts on businessowners, the public, and, undeniably, the city itself. It is therefore dumbfounding for the DOT to propose a rule change that will mandate a giant step back for all of us. Just some examples of the impacts of such a change include: requiring open excavations in the sidewalk and roadway, requiring steel plating to be present on an unprecedented level, and surely result in an explosion of liability claims, and perhaps literally explosions from unnecessarily exposed underground utility lines.

  Additionally, if approved, this rule change will cause a dramatic increase in the cost of performing work for property owners, and by association, to the Water Board through its service line protection program.

  I urge that this rule change not be adopted in the strongest and most passionate manner possible. I would be happy to answer any question you may have and to discuss this matter further.

  Thank you for your time and consideration.

  David Balkan,
  [email protected]
  917-673-6122
  VP, The NYC Subsurface Plumbers Association
  Subsurface Committee Chairman, The NYC Master Plumbers Council
  CEO, Balkan Sewer And Water Main Service

  Comment added February 20, 2026 9:35am

• Steven Kogel

  Dear Mr. Yacca,
  As a fourth-generation licensed master plumber and the owner of Harris Water Main and Sewer
  Contractors, a 108-year-old family business operating in NYC, I’m writing to raise what I consider
  urgent concerns about the proposed amendment to 34 RCNY § 2-11.
  The heart of the issue is a single new sentence:
  “A backfill, base, or wearing course may not be installed under an emergency permit number at
  any time, unless explicitly directed by the Department.”
  To anyone outside our industry, that might sound like a minor procedural adjustment. In practice,
  it would transform every emergency repair from a single, continuous operation into a two-phase
  process separated by days or weeks of waiting for a hard copy permit.
  Here’s what that looks like in reality. Today, when a homeowner’s water main breaks, we respond
  under an emergency permit, make the repair, backfill, and restore the surface. The street returns to
  normal, often within 48 hours of completion. Under the proposed rule, we’d make the repair and
  then be required to leave the site with an open or plated excavation until a Street Opening Permit
  is issued. In our experience, that takes 2 to 3 days on a good week, and can exceed 2 weeks.
  I want to focus heavily on cost, because I believe this is where the real damage will be felt.
  The majority of our clients are single-family homeowners. These are not commercial developers
  or large property management companies. These are working families and retirees who already
  struggle to afford standard water main and sewer work. When a water main breaks or a sewer line
  collapses, it’s an unplanned emergency with a price tag that hits hard. Over this past year alone,
  we saw more of our clients than ever before having to take out loans just to pay for their emergency
  repairs. That is the current reality, without any rule change.
  Now add thousands of dollars to every one of those bills. That is exactly what this proposed rule
  would do. The rule change will require additional crew mobilizations for every emergency job.
  Steel plates must be used, delivered, and retrieved. Excavated material that could have served as
  backfill gets trucked off site, and fresh material must be purchased and hauled in on a return trip.
  Traffic control and safety measures must be set up again. Each of these line items is real money
  coming out of a homeowner’s pocket, a homeowner who may already be borrowing to pay for the
  repair itself.
  Beyond cost, the safety concerns are significant. Every day an excavation sits open or plated is a
  day that pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists face unnecessary risk. Open holes invite water infiltration
  into basements, expose underground utilities to damage, and create conditions for washouts. Steel
  plates, while necessary as a temporary measure, become a long-term hazard when they’re the
  default rather than the exception.
  I would sincerely like to understand the purpose behind this proposed rule change. I have read the
  amendment carefully and I cannot identify the problem it aims to solve. What I can say with
  confidence is that it will result in more danger and more cost for the people of New York City. If
  the Department has specific concerns it is trying to address, I would welcome the opportunity to
  work together on solutions that don’t require leaving holes in the ground and asking homeowners
  to pay double.
  I respectfully ask that this proposed change not be adopted.
  Harris Water Main & Sewer

  Comment added February 25, 2026 5:25pm

• anonymous

  Dear Mr. Yacca,

  The Subsurface Plumbers Association ( SPA ) is the trade group which represents the Licensed Master Plumbers of New York City. The SPA specializes in the installation of Water Services and Sewers under the city roadways. These installations are performed for the property owners of the five boroughs of NYC. Many of the member firms have been proudly serving the NYC taxpayers for two and three generations.

  The SPA vehemently opposes this DOT rule proposal. For decades we have been front and center representing the industry working with the DOT at their Construction Advisory Council ( CAC ) meetings. Since the 311 system has been implemented, the subsurface utility contracting industry has been lectured by the DOT regarding the volume of complaints from the public associated with street plate noise while covering inactive trenches in the roadways made by utility contractors.

  This proposal will drastically increase the amount of days and weeks that the roadway plates will remain on the street which will exacerbate the noise complaint issue for the NYC residents. The DOT is completely unable to process permits in a timely manner. The industry has emplorered the DOT to streamline the current review process ,to no avail. Currently a DOT Permit can take up to three weeks to process a standard permit application. If this rule were to move forward, inactive trenches and road plates would be left on the roadways and sidewalks for weeks unnecessarily.

  Secondly, the new administration is looking to increase the size of the Law Department so as to reduce claims brought against the City of New York for trip and fall cases. The settlement amounts have skyrocketed in recent years.

  Having utility contractors leave sidewalk and roadway plates covering inactive trenches for additional weeks unnecessarily will certainly increase the liability to the City of New York and the contractors. This would certainly have an adverse effect on what the Mayor is trying to achieve.
  For these and countless other reasons the SPA believes that this ill conceived policy change will have an adverse outcome to the City of New York, residents, visitors and utility contractors.

  Respectfully,

  Comment added March 6, 2026 10:40am