FISP buildings still need parapet observations
Buildings greater than six stories are in the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP, or Local Law 11): five-year cycles, with reports filed with the DOB by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI). The parapet rule is separate and annual. In the year a FISP report is submitted, the DOB lets it count as the parapet report only if it contains everything 1 RCNY §103-15 requires. In the other years of the cycle, you need a separate parapet observation, done and in your own file by December 31.
VetraCheck does not perform FISP inspections. We do the annual parapet observation. To judge whether a FISP report can stand in for a given year, check it against what a parapet report must contain:
- Building address(es), and the owner's name, mailing address and phone number
- The observer's name and, if not the owner, their contact details, affiliation and business name
- The date(s) of the observation and a location plan of the parapets
- Each parapet's construction: material, height and thickness
- General conditions, whether any unsafe condition was found, and the action taken
- Repairs made since the previous report
Walk-ups, storefront buildings and corner lots
At six stories and under, FISP does not apply, so nothing replaces the annual parapet observation. That takes in tenement walk-ups and many mixed-use buildings with shops at street level. Height is irrelevant to the parapet rule itself: a two-story building with a parapet over the sidewalk is covered just as a tower is.
Corner and through-block buildings have parapets on more than one street. Each street-facing run, including the return where the parapet turns the corner, belongs on the report's location plan.
Terra cotta, stone and rooftop equipment
Pre-war elevator buildings often carry terra cotta or stone at the roofline as coping, balustrades and ornament. Glazed terra cotta can look sound while water enters through a hairline crack and corrodes the steel anchors that hold the units, and rusting steel expands and splits the material around it. Stone coping tends to fail at its joints, where open mortar or sealant lets water into the wall below.
Manhattan roofs also carry a lot of hardware. Telecom antennas and their mounts, railings around roof decks and terraces, and roof access rails are all appurtenances under the rule, and each must be stable.
Boards, managing agents and the six-year file
In a co-op or condo, the board typically approves the work, the managing agent schedules it and the super opens the roof door. Settle all three before the visit. Parapets around private terraces can only be reached through the unit that owns the terrace, so that resident needs notice too.
The owner must keep each year's report for at least six years and produce it if the DOB asks. Managing agents change more often than buildings do, so keep the reports with the building's own records rather than only in an agent's files. Failing to provide the report on request is a Class 2 violation, with a standard penalty of $1,250 that can reach $10,000 when aggravated.
When the observation finds a hazard
The person who performs the observation must notify the DOB immediately, and we do. Notice goes by a call to 311 and an email to parapets@buildings.nyc.gov. The owner must then install public protection such as a sidewalk shed, fence or netting, and correct the condition within 90 days of that notification. The DOB states there are no extensions, and the protection stays up until the repair is done.
For a building that is also in FISP, the DOB requires an Unsafe Notification (FISP3) in DOB NOW Safety as well, so bring your QEWI in right away.