NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City is home to some of the tallest and oldest buildings in the country. That comes with a dangerous risk – a piece of the building breaking free and falling multiple stories to the ground below.<\/p>\n
Soon, big changes are on the way, because of how the buildings are inspected. They are changes that could impact how the city looks in the long run. The scaffolding, or sheds, that surround buildings along sidewalks have become normal. There are new plans to diminish not only how many but also how long sheds remain on the streets of New York City.<\/p>\n
Building facades are required to be inspected regularly, and when work or repairs are needed, a sidewalk shed goes up to protect people down below.<\/p>\n
The city is trying to use those sheds to hold building owners accountable and get repair work done faster. They may not be very attractive, but they may save a life. Just ask Summer Lanier.<\/p>\n
“I saw it up there and then it just fell right down to the sidewalk, and it just broke,” said Lanier, who was walking home this month on the Upper East Side. “It kind of instilled a fear in me immediately.”<\/p>\n
Lanier says she witnessed a chunk of the building fall to the ground below. She took cell video of the aftermath.<\/p>\n
“I initially was very scared because there were people seconds before and after it fell, passing in that exact spot, and it very narrowly missed hitting anyone,” Lanier said. “It’s just like wood with some nails that was holding this up.”<\/p>\n
Lanier lives next door and invited ABC 7 to her rooftop.<\/p>\n
“This is where it fell from,” she said, pointing out where the large portion of facade fell off the building, six stories high.<\/p>\n
By the next morning, workers constructed a sidewalk shed outside and below the building until it’s inspected and repaired.<\/p>\n
Lanier is happy to know there’s protection in place. But over in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn, the scaffolding at 154 Parkside Avenue has been up so long, residents say they can’t even remember what that actual building looks like.<\/p>\n
“It just blocks the sunlight, the beautiful sunlight,” said Lamar Ballard, who has lived in the building for 23 years. “That’s my biggest problem with it.”<\/p>\n
Google Street View images show the shed has been up, on and off, for 14 years.<\/p>\n
“It’s been here for a while, that I forgot!” Ballard said.<\/p>\n
New York City is hoping to enact new rules this summer that it says will help change that.<\/p>\n
“Sidewalk sheds will continue to be a part of our city, but we hope a much smaller part,” said Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani.<\/p>\n
The city contracted engineering firm Thornton Thomasetti to conduct a review of its facade and safety inspection program, commonly referred to as FISP.<\/p>\n
It was the first review done in more than 40 years.<\/p>\n
Gary Mancini is the Managing Principal and Renewal Practice Leader at Thornton Thomasetti and helped author the report of the FISP.<\/p>\n
“It’s not about more inspections; it’s about targeted inspections, about doing the right inspections,” said Mancini.<\/p>\n
Based on the review, the Department of Buildings plans to make at least three big changes to the program. For one, sidewalk shed permits are currently issued for the entire year. Those permits would now have to be renewed every 90 days.<\/p>\n
“So you can’t just extend it; you have to tell us what you’re doing to make those repairs,” Tigani said.<\/p>\n
Also, right now, any building above six stories has to get the outside of its buildings checked every five years. Under the new proposed rules, that would be changed to six.<\/p>\n
However, if it’s a newly constructed building, it’s even longer.<\/p>\n
“So where there is an actual issue, our inspectors are there,” said Tigani. “Where we actually have defined issues, we’ve got greater, greater scrutiny on the reports,” he said.<\/p>\n
For those buildings that miss inspections or delay repairs, the city will continue issuing fines, which can add up… fast.<\/p>\n
Like the building where Lamar Ballard lives, as of this posting, it owes $3,529,850 in facade-related civil penalties, according to the NYC Department of Buildings.<\/p>\n
“That’s pretty nuts,” said Ballard.<\/p>\n
A building spokesperson sent Eyewitness News an official statement:<\/p>\n
“Throughout the past several years we have engaged contractors and engineers to perform the work and complete the proper submission to the city. Unfortunately, they were unable to execute this task. We engaged a new engineer and contractor who are working diligently to have the work completed and file the report by the end of October. As for the civil penalties, they are excessive and disproportionate. This is a rent stabilized property and the fines far exceed its annual income. If forced to pay this amount we will have no option but to have the property file for bankruptcy.”<\/p>\n
“This is part of how we send the message to the community that we’re serious about those violations,” said Commissioner Tigani.<\/p>\n
The building at 900 Grand Concourse in The Bronx also owes millions. In facade fines alone, $4,215,300 according to the NYC Department of Buildings. New York City issued a criminal summons last year. A city spokesperson said, it resulted in a criminal fine of $25,000 and a misdemeanor conviction on the owner’s record. To date, the city said the owners have still not taken “adequate” steps to complete the needed facade repairs to the building.<\/p>\n
We reached out for official comment in response to our reporting. To date, they have not responded.<\/p>\n
“We also work with the law department from a point of litigation to bring nuisance cases or criminal summonses if we have to go down that route,” said Tigani.<\/p>\n
As for those buildings that do have to go down the route of putting up a shed, the city’s working to get six new shed designs approved this year. The hope is that they will make the city more attractive.<\/p>\n
For some with first-hand experience, that’s not their most important feature.<\/p>\n
“Now I’m def looking up and being aware,” said Lanier.<\/p>\n
New York City also wants to start using drones to help do visual inspections of tall buildings, which will allow for a closer look at potential damage, in lieu of peering from far away with binoculars.<\/p>\n
The city will be holding a public hearing on the proposed changes on April 27. If approved, they’d go into effect later this year.<\/p>\n
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