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 in New York City are required to be inspected periodically per Local Law 126 of 2021. Until now, New York City had been exempt from New York State’s parking inspection law, which was passed after a two-level parking garage collapsed near Binghamton, New York, and has been in effect since 2019.
The new inspection requirements are similar to the City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP). Owners must hire a New York State licensed professional engineer to inspect their parking structures and file a report at least once every six years. Any deterioration or unsafe conditions found must be reported and remedied per the recommendation of the engineer. Buildings have two-year windows for filing and are grouped by community districts.
The first inspection cycle, extending from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023, applies to parking structures within Manhattan Community Districts 1 through 7. Owners of parking structures in these districts, which includes the Upper West Side and Manhattan below 59th Street, must have their parking structures inspected and required report filed within this cycle.
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) will soon finalize rules specifying the timing and specific requirements for the inspections; report filing fees; and civil penalties for failure to file and late filing, and for failing to correct conditions found during the inspections.
Who’s Affected
Parking structures that must be inspected include buildings, or portions of a building, used for parking or storing motor vehicles, including space inside or under a building; and open parking garages and enclosed parking garages as defined in the NYC Building Code.
Exemptions
Exempt from compliance are structures that include: autobody and automotive repair shops, automotive showrooms, and automotive service stations; garages with occupancy of fewer than three cars; unenclosed, unattached outdoor parking lots; and private garages serving one- and two-family homes.
Contact RAND
The DOB will conduct a public hearing on the proposed rule on February 25, 2022. We will continue to keep you apprised of updates as the rule is finalized. If you would like a consultation for RAND to conduct a parking structure inspection and/or to design or administer repair work, please contact us at 212-675-8844 or info@nullrandpc.com.
Jimmy Vignola, PE is Director of Technical Design and Structural Team Leader at RAND.
