News
Category: Safety
Results found:
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Missed Your NYC Cycle 9 FISP Report? Act Now to Stop DOB Penalties
NYC DOB Now Allows Early FISP Filing for NRF Buildings If your New York City building failed to submit a required Cycle 9 Facade Inspection Safety…
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As Cycle 10 Begins, We Remember Why FISP Exists
Unsafe condition prior to repair: Severely cracked terra cotta cornice identified during the 9th Cycle inspection. As Cycle 10 of the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP)…
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New York City Local Law Building Compliance Calendar 2025
RAND Building News & Insights, January 2025 Staying on top of NYC’s building compliance deadlines is more important than ever. This year is a critical one…
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Temporary Construction Equipment (Sidewalk Sheds, Fences, Scaffolding, etc.) No Longer Requires a Final Inspection
Project closeouts just became a little easier. As of November 5, 2022, a Technical Report (TR1) – Final is no longer required for temporary construction equipment…
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Parking Structure Inspections Now Mandatory in NYC
New York City is finally catching up with the rest of the State regarding mandatory periodic parking garage inspections. As of January 1, 2022, parking structures…
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Weathering the Storm: Emergency Preparedness & Storm Resiliency
After last week’s record-breaking rainfall caused flooding, power outages and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) released a…
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Coming This April: The Interim Certificate of Occupancy
A new class of Certificate of Occupancy, which removes red tape from the building occupation process for commercial and residential property owners, developers, and tenants, is…
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Penalty Increase for Failure to Certify Correction of Immediately Hazardous Conditions
In their on-going efforts to encourage owners to pay closer attention to their buildings’ conditions before hazardous conditions develop, the New York City Department of Buildings…
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Dealing With The Unexpected During a Storm Riser Collapse
Built in the 1920s, 33 Fifth Avenue is classic prewar construction. It has some old cast-iron stormwater drainage pipes that run through the building. They collect…
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9th Cycle FISP – New Rule Issued for Facade Inspections
It’s official. Just in time for the start of the City’s 9th Cycle Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) on February 21, 2020, the New York City…
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Rooftop and Balcony Safety in Stormy Weather
How to protect rooftops and balconies during storms, from securing items to managing drainage and structural risks.
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Facade Inspection Safety Program: Calling Your Block Number
It’s been nearly one year since the 8th Cycle of New York City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP, formerly called Local Law 11/98) began, and buildings with…
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Second Avenue Subway Construction Concerns
The Second Avenue Subway project has affected many properties along its path, and a number of owners have had to make permanent alterations to their building systems…
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Singapore Teams With New York on Facade Safety
Last month, my colleagues from the Buildings and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) and I visited New York City to learn more about the city’s Facade…
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Building Owners Face New Requirements on Cooling Towers
Following the recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, both New York City and New York State have passed separate laws regarding the registration, testing, and disinfecting of…
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Grace Gold’s Legacy: Safer Buildings
Those of us in the engineering and architecture industry in New York City are fully familiar with the Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), formerly known…
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DOB Rule Requires Inspections of Retaining Walls
Retaining walls are subject to a DOB inspection law similar to facades.
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Keeping Those Walls From Tumblin’ Down
Building owners who have retaining walls on their property typically don’t give them much thought. Unlike the facades of their building, retaining walls are often out…
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Don’t Shed the Shed Prematurely
As mandated by New York City Building Code, the Department of Buildings requires buildings with unsafe exterior conditions to protect people from falling masonry and debris.…
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Why Your Building’s Repair Project Requires Special Inspections
If your building has undertaken repair or upgrade work, your engineer or architect may have informed you that “Special Inspections” are required on the project. Many…
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Sidewalk Sheds: A Necessary Annoyance
According to the Department of Buildings, there are more than 8,500 sidewalk sheds and scaffolds throughout New York City. If an article in Sunday’s New York…
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Building Inspections: Singapore Meets New York
As a structural engineer working for Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA), a government agency that oversees building safety, I recently visited New York with a…
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Is Your Window Air Conditioner Safely Installed?
As summer officially arrives today with a hot, steamy vengeance, air conditioners throughout the city are going full blast. If you have a window A/C unit…
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Watch Your Step! Staying Safe on a Fire Escape
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…