Jack Chen would welcome a visit from a New York City buildings inspector.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, a major structural failure<\/a> at a high-rise office complex in Midtown that’s being converted into apartments by a company called MetroLoft prompted the city’s Department of Buildings to conduct a safety inspection sweep at dozens of other sites across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n Chen’s 36-story building was converted into apartments by MetroLoft last year, but still has yet to be inspected as part of the city\u2019s enforcement blitz, according to city records.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be comforting knowing they just took a look,\u201d Chen said of the tower at 55 Broad St., the former headquarters of financial giant Goldman Sachs, where he rents a unit. \u201c\u200aIt’s actually kind of worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n On July 7, two structural columns buckled on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer headquarters on 42nd Street now owned by MetroLoft. City officials said their inspection sweeps would target other buildings connected to companies involved in the project. But a Gothamist review of inspection data shows the agency has only examined 14 out of 20 other MetroLoft projects listed on the firm\u2019s website<\/a> or recently purchased by the company<\/a>, a few still under construction. And that’s left some feeling uneasy.<\/p>\n \u201cI would hope that they at least take a look into it,\u201d said Nick Bueno, a Miami resident visiting family on the sixth floor of another MetroLoft office-to-residential conversion at 20 Broad St., a 29-story luxury complex. \u201c\u200aI think it’s important.\u201d<\/p>\n Bueno said an inspection would give him peace of mind about \u201cthe protection of my family and the structural integrity of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n Department of Buildings spokesperson Andrew Rudansky declined to say why inspectors targeted the majority of the MetroLoft projects but not others, including the two properties on Broad Street.<\/p>\n \u201cTo protect the integrity of our ongoing investigation into the structural failure at 235 East 42nd St. and the related safety sweeps, we are not providing additional information about its targets or scope at this time,\u201d he said in a written statement. \u201cDOB’s investigation is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n The inspections at the other MetroLoft projects did not uncover specific problems or result in violations, department records show.<\/p>\n A MetroLoft spokesperson would not comment when asked about the company\u2019s communication with the buildings department or why inspectors had not visited some of its projects.<\/p>\n Structural engineer Abi Aghayere, a professor at Drexel University, said he was surprised the Department of Buildings has not visited each MetroLoft building in the wake of the structural failure at one of its projects.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically in a situation like this you want to do your due diligence and check each one,\u201d Aghayere said. \u201cThe safe thing would be to check them all.\u201d<\/p>\n Other residents at 20 Broad St. were more sanguine.<\/p>\n Film producer Sam Mannetti, 32, said he has lived in the building for the past six years and finds it well-run.<\/p>\n \u201cThey keep it in good order,\u201d Mannetti said. \u201cThey\u2019re quick to fix things.\u201d<\/p>\n Software engineer Star Olaojo said she also feels comfortable living in her 12th floor unit with or without another building inspection.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the reason why they haven\u2019t done inspections is that this building has been here for a long time, so they\u2019re already sure of it,\u201d Olaojo said. \u201cI\u2019m feeling safe.\u201d<\/p>\n MetroLoft no longer owns the building<\/a> after nearly defaulting on its mortgage loan in 2024<\/a>. Property records<\/a> show the firm transferred the 533-unit luxury complex later that year to another entity called 20 Broad Street Pledgor LLC, which listed its address as the office of brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.<\/p>\n Property management firm Greystar runs the building and declined to comment. Greystar spokesperson Andrea Davis said she would pass along an inquiry to the owner.<\/p>\n The entrance to 20 Broad St. in Manhattan.<\/p>\n David Brand<\/p>\n A 25-story, century-old tower at 67 Wall St., is among the MetroLoft projects that have faced additional scrutiny, according to city data. The former headquarters of Munson Shipping Lines was converted into 331 luxury apartments in 2006.<\/p>\n Buildings officials inspected the property on July 14 and attached a note<\/a> on the agency website indicating that the visit was \u201cRe: 235 East 42nd Street Sweep.\u201d There, they encountered workers outfitting the first-floor for a new commercial tenant but no structural work being completed, according to a description of the inspection.<\/p>\n On the same day, inspectors visited a 1,320-unit apartment complex at 25 Water St.<\/a> that formerly housed the offices of the New York Daily News and JPMorgan Chase. A day earlier, they checked in on another office building being converted to new housing at 1 Whitehall St.<\/a> that the company purchased the same week as the Midtown debacle. In both instances, they recorded \u201cno unsafe conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n City inspectors have also reviewed projects handled by other companies involved in the Pfizer building conversion, including Domani Special Inspections, a safety inspection outfit tasked with reviewing structural steel and welds, and Barone Steel Fabricators. a steel fabrication and installation firm contracted to work on the project, as Gothamist previously reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Building inspectors visited at least eight projects handled by Barone Steel as part of its citywide sweeps blitz and issued an order<\/a> to \u201cstop all steel\u201d work at a construction site in Greenwich Village where workers are transforming a parking garage into a seven-story housing complex. Rudansky, the building department spokesperson, said the type of steel being used on the project was different from what had been called for in the architect\u2019s plans. Barone did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The Department of Buildings visited at least six MetroLoft project sites where the firm Domani Special Inspections was contracted to perform safety reviews, according to agency records. Domani has faced scrutiny in the wake of the Midtown collapse for past errors recorded by the buildings department<\/a>, and for the checkered history of its founder. The company did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n But department officials did not visit at least three other MetroLoft projects that had previously contracted with Domani \u2013 including 20 Broad St. and 55 Broad St. \u2014 in the wake of the East 42nd Street incident, records show.<\/p>\n