NYC Office Move Checklist (Zero-Downtime Edition)

An office move has one metric that matters: how long is the team down? The checklist below is sequenced backwards from that — everything exists to make Monday morning at the new office feel like any other Monday.

8+ weeks out

• Appoint one move captain with decision authority — committee moves run late.
• Floor-plan the new space now: who sits where, what furniture comes, what gets replaced instead of moved.
• Book internet/IT circuits at the new office — business internet installation is the longest lead time in the entire move (4–8 weeks in some NYC buildings).
• Review both buildings' rules: freight elevator hours, after-hours move policies, and COI requirements (COIs apply doubly to commercial buildings).

4 weeks out

• Book the movers and both freight elevators — commercial slots are often evenings/weekends only, which is exactly what you want for zero downtime.
• Purge: shred old files, recycle dead electronics (e-waste rules apply), sell/donate surplus furniture (disposal guide).
• Order new-office keys/access cards for everyone; update the business address everywhere (Google Business Profile, website, invoices, bank, insurance, USPS commercial forwarding).
• Tell clients and vendors the date; update deliveries and subscriptions.

1 week out

• Everyone packs their own desk into one labeled crate/box: name + new desk number — the label system is the move.
• IT images the plan: photograph every desk setup, label every cable bag with the desk number, back up everything.
• Confirm COIs approved at both buildings and elevator windows re-confirmed in writing.
• Print a floor map for the crew: desk numbers at the destination matching the box labels.

Move weekend

• Move captain at the old office, one deputy at the new one — nothing gets guessed.
• Crew moves by the map: crates land on the matching desk, furniture lands per the floor plan.
• IT rebuilds in priority order: network first, then workstations, then the nice-to-haves.
• Old office: patch, clean, photograph everything for the landlord walkthrough — commercial deposits are real money.

Monday morning

Team walks in, finds their crate on their desk, plugs in, works. That's the whole standard. The difference between that Monday and a lost week is the labeling system, the IT priority order, and a crew that's done offices before.