Update on new York's facade inspection law

As of February 21, 2005 the filing period for 6th Cycle Local Law 11 Facade Inspections shall commence. Local Law 11 requires that the exterior facades of all buildings within the City of New York be inspected every 5 years by a Licensed Professional Engineer and that a report of the inspection be filed with the New York City Department of Buildings within the period February 21, 2005 thru February 21, 2007. As such Building Owners and Managing Agents will have 2 years to complete the inspections, perform all required work and have all reports properly filed in order to avoid violations, fines, court appearances, etc.

While at first glance a 2 year period to accomplish the above may seem sufficient, in reality it is considered to be a very short time frame and the potential for non-compliance is quite significant. As a result, in order to assure that reports are filed on time, it is strongly recommended that arrangements be made to have the inspections performed at the earliest possible time.

The following are some of the major factors which created the problems anticipated relative to the timely filing of the 6th Cycle Reports:

1. The Platform/Scaffold Inspection Requirements

Every Local Law 11 Facade Inspection must include a minimum of 1 platform/scaffold drop inspection over a street facade. Typically, a scaffold drop inspection will be performed from the top of the building through grade level. This requires that the services of a Contractor be utilized. The Contractor must be a licensed rigger and must maintain and provide appropriate levels of insurance. In addition, the Contractor's work crew and the engineer performing the inspection must carry with them ID cards indicating they are certified to fide/ rig/operate the scaffolding equipment. These cards are typically obtained only upon completion of required education and training. In some instances, permits to close sidewalks or streets may be needed to perform the inspection and sidewalk bridging may also be required. It is anticipated that as the 6th Cycle Local Law 11 filing period proceeds towards the deadline it will be extremely difficult to secure the services of qualified, licensed Contractors to assist with the performance of the required scaffold inspections. In addition, weather conditions can prevent or delay the performance of the scaffold inspections and the visual inspections. Under such circumstances rescheduling can result in significant delays in the inspection process.

2. The Requirement that all Conditions Noted in the Previously Filed 5thCycle Report Must be Repaired Prior to the Filing of the 6th Cycle Report.

It is estimated that more than 50% of the buildings covered by Local Law 11 have conditions presently in need of repair and maintenance. This will result in violations, costly fines, court appearances, etc.

In order to effectively perform the required repairwork relative to conditions documented in the previously filed report, the following will typically need to occur:

a. A Licensed Professional Engineer will need to be retained to review the 5'h Cycle conditions and inspect the building to observe its current condition.

b. Plans and Specifications for the exterior repairwork will have to be prepared. At the same time it would also be prudent to inspect for and evaluate any on-going water penetration and to include all necessary remedial work relative to the water penetration within the Plans and Specifications for the Local Law 11 repairwork.

c. Competitive bids should be taken from at least 5 Contractors to perform the work stipulated in the Plans and Specifications. It is important to note that as the time period for the filing of Local Law 11 Reports elapses there will be a greater and greater demand for the services of qualified Contractors. It is anticipated that a shortage of qualified Contractors will occur and that there will also be significant cost escalations.

d. Contractor bids should be reviewed, scrutinized and evaluated by the Engineer. A bid spreadsheet summarizing all bids and highlighting any discrepancies among the bids should be prepared by the Engineer for review with the Owner.

e. Upon reviewing all bids and checking references, the Owner should select the Contractor for the project and negotiate the final contact price.

f. Once the Contractor is selected, a contract should be drafted and signed by the Owner and the Contractor.

g. The project must be filed with the Department of Buildings for their approval.

h. If the building is a Landmark or is located within a Landmark District the project must be filed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission for their approval.

i. The Engineer must follow up with The Department of Buildings and, where required, The Landmarks Preservation Commission, to obtain all required approvals.

j. All required permits for the work must be obtained. This could include:

i. Work Permit from the Department of Buildings

ii. Permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission

iii. Permit to erect a Sidewalk Bridge

iv. Permit to erect and utilize Outrigger Scaffolds

v. If relevant, permit to close a sidewalk or street

vi. If relevant, permit to work on a weekend

k. The sidewalk bridging must be erected and maintained at all times. The work required by the contract must be executed pursuant to the Plans and Specifications prepared for the project. Work of this nature typically cannot be performed during cold weather periods (December thru March) nor during inclement weather (rain, heavy winds, etc.) Accordingly, a typical work year actually includes only some 6 months of productive work.

l. During the course of the project the Engineer should oversee the performance of the work. If defects in the work are noted, typically such work will have to be redone. This can delay the completion of a project.

m. Upon completion of the work the Engineer must sign off the project with The Department of Buildings and prepare and file the required 6th Cycle Local Law II Facade Inspection Project.

The above activities and stages are often quite time consuming to accomplish. Multiple parties are involved every step of the way, including several different Public Agencies. In many cases it can take 1 to 2 years to complete a project and to file the required report.

In the event that the conditions noted in the previously filed 5th Cycle report as needing a repair and maintenance program are not all satisfactorily addressed when the 6th Cycle report is submitted to the Department of Buildings for filing those conditions not repaired will have to be classified as unsafe conditions in that report. This will trigger violations, court appearances, fines, etc.

3. The Department of Buildings Audits the filed Local Law 11 Reports.

The Department of Buildings is extremely thorough in their approach to Local Law 11. The law is viewed as a very serious safety requirement. The reports which are submitted to that agency will be carefully audited and scrutinized. If a report has inaccurate information, is not in the correct format, lacks the required documentation or is otherwise deemed unacceptable by the Department of Buildings it will be rejected. Once a report is rejected a re-filing is needed.

The re-filing can take time and until a 6th Cycle report is accepted it can leave the property owner in a position the equivalent of never having filed the report. Accordingly, the sooner a report is submitted for filing to the Department of Buildings and is audited the more time an owner will have within the filing period to correct the report.

ALAN S. EPSTEIN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, EPSTEIN ENGINEERING

COPYRIGHT 2005 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group