Search Results for: Field Inspections

Audit Faults Control of Field Inspectors

Comptroller’s Audit Reveals Multiple Deficiencies in how Buildings Oversees Field Inspectors. 

On December 21, 2018, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer published an audit of Department of Buildings’ oversight of its field inspectors that covered the period of July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. The audit reviewed the oversight of 86 field inspectors working in six units: the Building Enforcement Safety Unit, the Special Operations unit, each of Brooklyn and Queens’s Construction Enforcement units, and each … <Read More>

DOB Announces Facade & Scaffold Safety Blitz

The sweeps will focus on approximately 1,100 sites performing facade work across New York City. On February 18, 2021, the Department of Buildings (DOB) announced the launch of a seven-week long facade and scaffold safety blitz. The campaign includes educational outreach to construction workers and other industry professionals and inspection sweeps of facade work sites citywide.

Buildings to Strengthen Facade Inspection Process

Safety sweep of 1,331 facades found that 220 needed additional pedestrian protections. On December 30, 2019, the Department of Buildings Commissioner, Melanie E. La Rocca, announced enhancements to Buildings’ existing facade inspection process. Buildings will double its existing facade inspection team by hiring twelve new staff positions to the unit, including eleven inspectors. The current staff includes eleven facade inspectors, eleven administrative support staff, and six technical staff.

Comptroller’s Audit of DOHMH’s Follow-up of Health Code Violations at Restaurants

Audit shows weaknesses in Health Department’s ability to regulate health code inspections at restaurants. On June 30, 2015, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit report that examined how effectively the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s restaurant inspection program was working to resolve outstanding health code violations. The report examined the process by which DOHMH conducts its restaurant inspection program. The program consists of initial unannounced inspections where public health inspectors note … <Read More>

City Imposes Two-Year Facade Inspecting Ban for Engineer Following December Partial Building Collapse in the Bronx

On February 22, 2024, Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Buildings announced an agreement for a two-year suspension for a professional engineer to conduct facade inspections following the December 2023 partial collapse of 1915 Billingsley Terrace in the Bronx. Several families lost their apartments, although there fortunately were no fatalities or serious injuries.

Comptroller’s DOB Audit Reveals Failures to Combat Illegal Curb Cuts and Driveways

Buildings facilitated the installation of illegal curb cuts and driveways by approving work permit applications that did not meet Zoning Resolution requirements. On July 1, 2021,  New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit of the Department of Buildings, finding widespread deficiencies in Buildings’ efforts to combat illegal curb cuts and driveways.