Watch Your Step! Staying Safe on a Fire Escape

Posted on by Albelisa Gonzalez

Recently one morning I was at an Upper East Side building taking measurements for a Local Law 11/98 repair program. As I was walking down the fire escape from the fourth floor, one of the metal steps broke off and fell to the landing below. Fortunately I was holding on to the railings with both hands and did not get injured, and the step did not fall on a person. But it was scary nonetheless.

Luckily the broken step fell on the landing below and not on a person.

I immediately notified the building super, who helped me down the fire escape, and I informed a board member of the unsafe condition. I looked closely at where the step gave way: The attachment bolts and plates were heavily rusted, but they were painted over several times so the deterioration was hard to detect at a glance. The board has since asked Rand to incorporate steel repairs as part of the scope of work.

My Rand colleagues have told me of their similar fire escape scares, including one where a step broke away and the engineer’s leg went through the space all the way up to his thigh. As in my incident, he wasn’t injured, and the step fell to the landing below and not to the ground where it could have hit someone.

A couple of common sense fire escape safety tips:

  • Keep two hands on the railings at all times.
  • Take one step at a time, and test each step before putting your full weight on it.
  • Walk up and down the fire escape facing the stairs. That way if you fall, you will fall towards the steps and railings instead of away from them.
  • Residents should keep fire escapes clear of debris and obstructions, including plants, rugs, chairs, grilles, clothes, etc. Not only are they tripping hazards; they are also a violation of the Building Code.
  • Building owners should have fire escapes checked regularly by maintenance staff. Hazards such as loose or missing railings, steps, or slats; sharp edges; rust/deterioration; structural instability, etc., should be repaired immediately. See our Ask the Engineer column for more on refurbishing a fire escape.

Stay safe!

Introducing Rand’s “Special Ops” Infrared Team

Posted on by Peter Scallion

One of the more frequent assignments we get at Rand is figuring out how to stop leaks in buildings. Once water enters through the roof or facade, it can travel far and wide, making it difficult to find the source and determine the extent of deterioration. To better arm us in that never-ending battle, we've put together what you might call a "special ops" team and equipped it with a very effective weapon: an infrared camera.

A dozen of our engineers, architects, and project associates recently completed a professional training course in infrared technology. As Certified Level I Thermographers, they are qualified to perform building diagnostics in three areas (depending on their certification): buildings and roofs, electrical systems, and mechanical systems.

Rand's Infrared Team shows its true colors.

A non-destructive method of testing, infrared thermography detects thermal differences in objects and displays them in images taken with an infrared camera. Water retains heat longer than solids do, so by analyzing the different colors in the infrared images and comparing them with visually observed conditions, a thermographer can pinpoint areas in a building where water is likely to have penetrated. Thermographic images can also indicate areas of heat loss caused by insufficient insulation, such as around piping or windows.

Infrared technology gives a view of building conditions beyond what can be seen in a visual-only survey. Using a thermographic map of a roof or a facade to root out the source of leaks, the engineer or architect can have investigative probes conducted with much more accuracy than through just trial-and-error. As a result, fewer probes are needed to locate areas of water infiltration and assess the underlying damage, saving clients time and money.

While Rand has been using infrared thermography for a while, we're excited to now have an in-house team trained specifically for that purpose. Leading the infrared team is Level III Thermographer and Rand Senior Architect, John P. Monroe, RA. (He's the heavily purple presence on the far right in the photo above.)

For an example of how Rand uses infrared thermography to detect leaks, please see our previous blog post on the topic. If your building is suffering from water infiltration, contact us at 212-675-8844 or i...@randpc.com for help. Our special ops team—in all its glorious thermographic colors—is ready for action.

Looking Back 25 Years

Posted on by Peter Scallion

In October of 1987, a handful of RAND Engineering, PC employees (we hadn't added the "& Architecture" part yet) set up shop on the 12th floor in a drab building in what was then a sketchy part of Chelsea, on 25th Street near Seventh Avenue. The building lacked amenities, the street lacked safety, and the company lacked paychecks. Twenty-five years later, Rand is still in the same location, though we're happy to report the building, the neighborhood, and Rand itself have come a long way since then.

To celebrate our quarter century of service, we've launched a 25th anniversary ad campaign, starting in the May issue of Habitat magazine, featuring Rand employees who have been with the firm since Day One.

Fittingly enough, the first ad stars Executive Secretary and Grand Dame Faye Varone, who just so happens to be the mother of Rand's founder and President Stephen Varone. To read Faye's memories of those early days—which include office Wiffle Ball as well as office mice—click on her photo above.

Stay tuned for upcoming ads featuring other Rand veterans (whose appearances admittedly have changed a bit more than the ageless wonder Faye) as they look back over the years at how much Rand has grown.

If there's a "secret sauce" to the company's success, Faye and her fellow Rand lifers are the chefs behind it. For those of us lucky enough to benefit from their vast experiences—and hear their great stories—this ad campaign is a tribute to how they helped make Rand the firm it is today: A quarter of a century old and still going strong.

Chillers by Special Delivery

Posted on by Young Suh, PE

Recently at a residential co-op in Upper Manhattan, Rand administered the installation of three new gas absorption chillers and two new boilers that required some tricky maneuvering.

The new 60-ton-capacity chillers (each weighing 5,310 pounds) and boilers (1,025 pounds) are factory built and could not be assembled in place. Instead, each chiller and boiler had to be installed as a complete unit. The problem: The units are too large to pass through the doorways.

The original plan was to open an existing hatch in the sidewalk, but there was gas and sprinkler piping underneath, which couldn’t be moved. So we turned to Plan B: Hoisting the units by a crane, one by one, over the second-floor roof and lowering them into the courtyard.

A crane hoisted the 5,310-pound chiller over the second-floor roof.

But before the chillers and boilers could be hoisted into the courtyard, we had to clear a path for them to get them into the boiler room. That required making a large opening in the rear wall of the boiler room and removing two feet of depth in the courtyard floor to accommodate the height of the chillers so they could pass through the opening.

A telescopic crane parked along Broadway lifted each unit over the sidewalk and into the building. Safety personnel directed pedestrian traffic while the loads were overhead. Each unit took about 45 minutes to rig, lift, and lower into place.

While getting the units into the boiler room took some careful choreography, the maneuvering didn’t end there. To support the weight of the chillers, concrete pads had to be installed for them to rest on. But the pads could not be built before the units were moved into place because space in the boiler room was tight and the pads would have limited the positioning of the units. Therefore, the units were first moved into the room, raised with a power-jack, and the new concrete pads were poured below them. The units were then lowered onto the pads after they hardened. 

After it was lowered into the courtyard, the chiller was moved into the boiler room through a hole made in the wall.

After the chillers were in place, the pumps, piping, and controls were installed. The back wall of the boiler room was closed up, and the dug-up portion of the courtyard room was refilled.

To further complicate the installation, gas service to the building was interrupted due to an unrelated incident. The new chillers and boilers operate on gas, and to restore service, new gas piping has to be installed and the system must be pressure tested.

After a painstaking journey, the chiller in its final resting place.

Fortunately most heating plant upgrades Rand administers aren’t as complex as this one, but it was interesting project that called for some creative planning and execution.

A City of Sidewalk Sheds

Posted on by Peter Scallion

As you wend your way through the streets of New York, especially in Manhattan, you can’t avoid walking under or around construction sheds, those ubiquitous steel-and-plywood structures covering large tracts of the city’s sidewalks. Just how ubiquitous are they? According to the Buildings Departments, there are approximately 6,000 sidewalk sheds in New York City, covering more than one million feet (that's 190 miles) of walkways. Chances are, your building has had, now has, or will have a shed installed along its facades during an exterior repair program.

Although sidewalk sheds can be an eyesore—and a nuisance to store owners whose signs and windows they obscure—they are also necessary to protect pedestrians in a city constantly undergoing construction work.

There are approximately 6,000 sidewalk sheds in New York City.

Rand administers dozens of exterior repair and restoration projects each year, the vast of majority of which require a sidewalk shed. We’re often asked if it’s permissible for a shed to extend across the property line of an adjacent building. Not only is it permissible—it’s required. According to New York City building code, a sidewalk shed must extend five feet beyond a building less than 100 feet tall and 20 feet beyond one 100 feet or higher.

In our latest Ask the Engineer column, we look at other common questions and concerns that building owners, managers, and residents have about sidewalk sheds, such as:

  • When is a sidewalk shed required?
  • How much does a sidewalk shed typically cost to install and maintain?
  • Does it make sense to take down the sidewalk shed while the project is on hold or during a winter shutdown?
  • What should you do if a shed looks unsafe or has hazardous conditions?

The sleek Urban Umbrella allows in more natural light and visibility.

As for the traditional structure’s bleak appearance, new light may soon be shed on sheds—literally. The Urban Umbrella, a new DOB-approved sidewalk shed design, uses recycled steel columns with splayed spokes, translucent plastic panels, and LED lighting, giving it an sleek, airy look that allows in more natural light and visibility. The first prototype was recently installed in downtown Manhattan.

Check out the full article on our website, and let us know if your building is facing any sidewalk shed issues or if you have comments about the Urban Umbrella. Would your board consider installing the new design in front of your building?

Green Blooded

Posted on by Stephen A. Varone, AIA

Rand recently received an award for Environmental Stewardship from the New York Association of Realty Managers, which has us basking in a warm, green glow. We're glad to see how the real estate industry has embraced the importance of making buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, and we're honored that our peers have recognized Rand's role in bringing that approach and expertise to our clients.

Congratulations also to the other two Environmental Stewardship winners: Cora D. Austin of Lindsey Park Housing Corp. and Isabelle B. Silverman, Esq. of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council gave the city's green movement a big push with the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, new legislation designed to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings. The plan includes four new local laws covering benchmarking, energy audits and retro-commissioning, lighting retrofits and submetering, and a new energy conservation code. We're happy to report that even though owners are now mandated to make their buildings more energy efficiency, many of our clients are realizing it's also smart building management, and they are asking us to help them do it.

Rand administered the installation of a green roof at the Fashion Institute of Technology as part of FIT's plan for energy sustainability.

At Rand we approach every project—not just the so-called "green" ones like green roofs—from an energy and environmental perspective. In our construction documents we specify recycled replacement products and materials low in toxicity more than ever before. And on most renovation projects we aim for at least 50% of the construction debris to be recycled. In addition, keeping buildings watertight and their core systems operating smoothly goes a long way towards energy savings—and providing healthier and safer places to live and work.

Green building technology and construction is still a relatively new field, but it has greatly matured over the past decade. New environmentally friendly products are being developed every day, contractors are becoming more skilled in industry standard green practices, and building owners, managers, and co-op and condo boards are learning how to improve their buildings' operating efficiency and acting on their knowledge.

Winning the Environmental Stewardship award is not an end in itself for Rand. We consider it an acknowledgement that we're on the right track and encouragement to take it to the next level.

Being green is more than winning an award, however. It's integral to who we are as a firm and what we do day in and day out. It's gotten into our blood and our DNA as a firm—from the smallest project to the largest.

We will continue to practice and promote energy efficiency and environmentally sound projects until they are the "new normal." We thank NYARM for the honor and look forward to continuing the mission for our clients and the industry as a whole.

Finding Building Information Online

Posted on by By Jamey R. Ehrman, PE

The amount of information an owner, agent, or engineer/architect may need to know about a building can be extensive. Fortunately a number of websites and online databases makes it much easier to find property data than it was just a few years ago.

For instance, to find a building's block and lot number you once had to leaf though pages and pages of the huge Sanborn Maps. Now that information and a lot more is just a click away.

One of the more popular online database is Buildings Information System, developed and maintained by the New York City Department of Buildings. At any given moment in Rand's office a staff member is likely checking BIS to gather information for one of our projects. Block and lot is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg in BIS. I check the site regularly to confirm the status of my projects' permit applications, previous Local Law 11/98 filings, and Certificates of Occupancy, among other things. The beauty of BIS is that it's public information available to anyone; you don't need to be an engineer or architect to use it. The website is not particularly intuitive, however, so if you're using it for the first time, check out the Frequently Asked Questions and the glossary.

Another database I find helpful is HPD Building Info, maintained by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The site lists property owner and registration, open violations, complaints, charges and fees, pending litigation, and lots of other information.

OASIS is an interactive map that offers a wide variety of data including zoning and landmarks, roads and transit, parks, and land use.

 

NYC OASIS (Open Accessible Space Information System), an interactive map developed and maintained by the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center, offers a wide variety of useful data, including zoning and landmarks; roads and public transportation lines; parks, playgrounds, and open spaces; environmental characteristics and land use; and retail food stores and green markets. You can search by building address, block and lot, Zip Code, neighborhood, community district, and county or borough. A tutorial on the site has short videos to show how to use the map's features.

I also use the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Bulk Storage Database to confirm the registration, expiration, equipment specifications and tank testing requirements for petroleum bulk storage units (i.e., oil tanks). Searching by a property's 7-digit site number is easier than by building address, which can involve trial and error.

If you have used any of the above sites and have comments or suggestions, or if you know of other useful building information sites or databases, please let us know in the box below. There is a wealth of data out there about New York City properties and accessing it has never been easier.

Local Law 11/98 Seminar, Feb. 8: Is Your Building Ready to File?

Posted on by Joanna Kuther

Buildings with outstanding SWARMP items must file as Unsafe for the 7th Cycle.

February is right around the corner, and in addition to Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day, and this year, Leap Day, add one more date to the calendar: February 21. That's the day of the first filing deadline for the 7th Cycle of Local Law 11/98 (now known as the Facade Inspection and Safety Program, or FISP).

New York City buildings taller than six stories with block numbers ending in 4, 5, 6, or 9, are required to file their facade inspection reports with the Department of Buildings by this first deadline. If your building's block numbers ends in 0, 7, or 8 the deadline is August 21, 2012. The FISP filing deadline for buildings with block numbers ending in 1, 2, or 3, is February 21, 2013.

Now that the first deadline is drawing near, many of our clients are calling to ask us about last-minute filing. A common question: "What do we do if our building has outstanding SWARMP items (Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program) from a previous cycle?"

Quick answer: You will have to file as Unsafe and then have an engineer or architect design a repair program. If your building's filing deadline is in August or next February, you have more breathing room to fix those SWARMP items, but it's still prudent to start planning those steps now.

To help building owners and managers prepare for filing their 7th Cycle facade inspection reports, Rand is conducting a free seminar on Wednesday, February 8 at 6:30 PM at Rand's office at 159 West 25th Street in Manhattan. In the seminar, Rand's President Stephen Varone will discuss the steps you need to take if your building has to file an Unsafe report, how to schedule a SWARMP repair program, and the latest regulations governing site safety requirements.

To sign up for the seminar, please contact me, Joanna Kuther, at 212-675-8844, ext. 212; jkut...@randpc.com. The seminar will run about an hour a half, including questions and answers. We start serving wine and hors d'oeuvres at 6:00, so come early to mingle and enjoy the fare. We hope to see you there!

Masonry, History, Integrity—By the Book

Posted on by Peter Scallion

New York City has nearly one million buildings (975,000 by the DOB’s count), many of them prewar constructions with historic features that require regular maintenance and repair to guard against the ravages of time and weather. Yet for New York City teens and young adults, there are few opportunities to learn the skills necessary for a career in repairing and preserving the city’s aging building stock.

The lack of available training for young people interested in masonry preservation has long been a source of frustration for Rand’s Senior Project Manager Tom Russack. So several years ago, Tom, a third-generation mason and historic preservationist who has worked at Rand since 1999, conceived and developed a program for disadvantaged and at-risk inner-city youths to learn hands-on construction skills.

The training course that Tom created and teaches is the Youthbuild Masonry Preservation Program, sponsored by the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a not-for-profit organization serving the Harlem community. The program, open to unemployed and out-of-school men and women ages 16 to 24, enables them to complete their GED and to pursue post secondary education opportunities.

Based on the curriculum from the course, Tom has written a training manual, Masonry History Integrity: An Urban Conservation Primer, for use in classroom teaching and construction trades programs. Each chapter in the book focuses on a major construction material, e.g., mortar, bricks, stones, and terra cotta; tools such as trowel, level, jointer, pointer, hammer, chisel, and hawk; and methods of construction, including caulking, repointing, patching,and plastering. Activities at the end of each chapter give students the chance to put into practice the information covered and emphasize proper safety tips.

The book not only teaches technical skills; it also promotes the importance of a strong work ethic and moral development. Tom uses examples of historic figures to highlight admirable qualities, such as Theodore Roosevelt (character), Thomas Edison (inspiration), and Winston Churchill (determination). He also includes examples of historic buildings and places from different eras to emphasize the importance of connecting the past with the present. Quotes from both famous and everyday people provide inspiration and encouragement, as do testimonies from Tom’s former students who have gone on to schools, apprenticeships, and jobs in the construction trades.

Tom Russack demonstrates stone patching to his students.

One student, for example, was accepted into the American College of Building Arts in Charleston, SC and received a scholarship for her first year of studies. Three students received a full scholarship from the World Monument Fund for a three-month training experience in Chile, where they learned adobe construction and repair while helping residents with their English language skills. Two masonry preservation graduates are working full-time at New York City masonry restoration firms, another received an apprenticeship at Evergreene Studios for interior plaster and decorative work, and several others have received internships with the Central Park Conservancy.

Masonry History Integrity, which Tom wrote with the help of a grant from the National Park Service’s National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, is being used as the official textbook for several preservation trade programs, including courses at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. It can be downloaded for free at the NCPTT website.

Rand is proud of Tom for his work developing the Youthbuild Masonry Preservation Program and teaching students the skills and attitudes necessary to become successful in the construction trades. We’re confident his comprehensive book, a true labor of love, will serve as an invaluable guide and source of inspiration for a new generation of craftsmen and women.

Restoring a Landmark on Ladies’ Mile

Posted on by William Pitonyak

Built in 1870, the landmark building at 901 Broadway was originally home to the Lord & Taylor Dry Goods Store.

Rand was recently hired to oversee an exterior restoration and roof replacement program at 901 Broadway, which the New York Observer called “one of the most architecturally unique buildings still standing in Manhattan.”

Built in 1870, the five-story building—the first iron-framed building in New York City—has an ornate cast-iron facade, a turret, and a slate mansard roof. It was originally home to the Lord & Taylor Dry Goods store, which had moved from its downtown location at Broadway and Grand Street in 1860. In 1872 the store opened its new location at 901 Broadway, at the southwest corner of 20th Street, and soon became a tourist attraction for its elaborate steam elevator.

In 1914, Lord & Taylor moved to its current flagship store on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. 901 Broadway, now part of the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, was designated a New York City landmark in 1977. Last month, Brooks Brothers opened a concept store on the ground floor, a nod to its storied retail history.

The restoration project that Rand is designing and administering, scheduled to begin in the spring, will entail manufacturing and installing many decorative cast-iron elements that have been lost over the years. The mansard roof will be temporarily removed to waterproof the underlying wood deck. The existing slate shingles will then be re-installed, following the green principle of reusing materials whenever possible.

As members of the project team who will be working on the building, my Rand colleagues and I are looking forward to returning this Flatiron gem to its original glory. Even if the long-gone steam elevator is not part of the scope.