Help! How to get gas meter added back to apartment

We recently bought a combined apartment where the second kitchen was turned into a wet bar by the previous owner more than 5 years ago. The gas meter was located inside the kitchen and they had it removed by ConEd since it was ugly and in the way, and they no longer had a need for gas. Well, now we want to turn that wet bar into a laundry room (we have young kids and have no use for a wet bar).... [more]

We recently bought a combined apartment where the second kitchen was turned into a wet bar by the previous owner more than 5 years ago. The gas meter was located inside the kitchen and they had it removed by ConEd since it was ugly and in the way, and they no longer had a need for gas. Well, now we want to turn that wet bar into a laundry room (we have young kids and have no use for a wet bar). Our contractor filed an LAA to do the plumbing work and put all the hookups in place, and everything is set except we have no gas meter. Called ConEd and they say they need gas tests and affidavits (which are easy according to the plumber) and a 'blue card' from the DOB before they can add it back. Now our contractor says you can't get a blue card based on an LAA filing and we need to file an ALT2 with architect drawings. This has dragged on for a couple of months while he tried to figure out what we need to do with an expeditor, but he clearly lacks experience in this area and I need a second opinion. Don't want to throw money at this if the LAA is sufficient or if ALT2 is not the right answer. Can someone please help? [less]