New York City's "Debt Demolisher" program lets owners settle old ECB judgments without default penalties or interest. But for DOB and FDNY violations the correction has to be approved first, and approvals take weeks. Here is how the program works, who is excluded, and a plan to finish before the window closes.
From October 13, 2026 through January 10, 2027, the Department of Finance (DOF) is running the ECB Amnesty and Compliance Program, branded "Debt Demolisher." It comes from Local Law 147 of 2026 and covers judgments from the Environmental Control Board, which the city's hearings office (OATH) decides.
The program covers ECB judgments adjudicated by OATH. That includes summonses issued by agencies such as the Department of Buildings (DOB), the Fire Department (FDNY), Sanitation (DSNY), Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection (DEP) and Landmarks.
Not eligible, according to DOF's program FAQ:
DOB's own civil penalties, such as the fines DOB charges for late or missing elevator and boiler filings, are a separate debt and are not ECB judgments. They matter here anyway: DOB will not issue a Certificate of Correction approval while DOB civil penalties remain unpaid on the property.
DOF's FAQ is direct: a judgment that requires correction can be paid under the program only if the issuing agency approves the correction and DOF receives electronic confirmation of that approval before the program ends. Filing the paperwork is not enough. It has to be approved.
Expediters report that DOB approvals often take a month or more, and a rejected filing sends you back to the start. The 2016 amnesty gave owners extra months to correct after paying a down payment. We have found no such track in the 2026 program. DOF has not published an end time for January 10, so plan to be finished well before that day.
FDNY Certificates of Correction are also notarized and filed online, through the FDNY Business portal under "FDNY Summons Certificate of Correction Request." FDNY no longer accepts them by email.
Some judgments do not require a correction, typically when the condition was a one-time event. Those can be paid directly through the city's payment site once you confirm the reduced amount.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Now through late October | Pull every open ECB judgment for each building. Sort them into "payment only" and "needs a correction." Pay off any DOB civil penalties. |
| By mid-November | Complete the inspections, tests and repairs. File every Certificate of Correction. |
| Mid-November to mid-December | Track each filing. Answer DOB or FDNY objections quickly and refile anything that is rejected. |
| By late December | Pay each judgment in full under the amnesty once its correction is approved. |
| January 10, 2027 | Program closes. Unpaid judgments return to full value with interest. |
The city expects the program to bring in about $25 million. Its last amnesty, FAIRER in 2021, saw roughly 21,000 respondents resolve more than 87,000 judgments in its first three months.
We ran the city's open data on October 16, 2026. DOB's ECB violation records show about 51,000 DOB-issued ECB violations that are still active, have a balance due, were decided before July 16, 2026 and have no correction on record. They sit on about 20,000 buildings. Equipment is a real share of them:
| DOB violation type | Open, unpaid, no correction recorded | Buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Elevators | About 3,100 | About 1,500 |
| Boilers | About 2,800 | About 2,100 |
| Local Law filings | About 1,400 | About 1,000 |
| Plumbing | About 370 | About 290 |
FDNY adds roughly 76,000 more OATH summonses with a balance due, spread across about 27,000 tax lots. Open data cannot show which of these are excluded (for example, those already with a Marshal or converted to a lien), so treat these as the outer edge of what may qualify, not a count of eligible judgments.
The discount is real, but an open violation costs more than the fine. Banks and title companies check DOB records. Open violations can delay a certificate of occupancy, a letter of completion or the lifting of a stop work order. DOB can deny permits to owners with $25,000 or more in unpaid penalties, and DOF has been converting DOB-issued judgments into property liens.
For equipment violations there is a second reason. A boiler or elevator violation usually means a required inspection or repair was missed. Closing it brings the equipment back into compliance, so the same violation does not come back next cycle.
January 10, 2027. It started October 13, 2026. The DOF Commissioner may extend it once by up to 90 days, but no extension has been announced, so plan on January 10.
On a defaulted judgment you pay the base fine, and the default penalty and interest are waived. Default penalties are usually far higher than the base fine, so the savings can be large. On a judgment decided after a hearing you pay 75% of the fine, with interest waived.
No. Payment settles the debt. The DOB violation stays open until DOB accepts a Certificate of Correction. For violations that require correction, the approval must come before you can pay under the program.
No. Each judgment must be paid in full in one payment. You can pay judgments one at a time.
No. Those are DOB penalties, not ECB judgments. But DOB will not approve a Certificate of Correction while they are unpaid, so clear them early.
Through the city's online payment site (nyc.gov/mysummons or DOF eServices) or in person at a DOF Business Center. Program details are at nyc.gov/debtdemolisher.
Primary sources: DOF's ECB Amnesty and Compliance Program page and program FAQ; the Mayor's announcement; DOB's Steps to Correct an OATH Summons; OATH's Certificate of Correction guide; and FDNY's Certificate of Correction filing guide. Violation counts come from NYC Open Data's DOB ECB Violations dataset and OATH's FDNY summons records, retrieved October 2026.
This guide summarizes the program for planning purposes and is not legal advice. Where a detail matters to a decision, read the program terms or ask DOF.
Send us your addresses and we will pull every open ECB judgment, tell you which ones need a correction before you can pay, and quote the work to close them before January 10. Or run a free compliance check on any NYC address first.