NEW YORK—Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a five-point plan on Aug. 10 to ensure that all buildings comply with the New York City Buildings Code.
The new plan was initiated after two firefighters died in a blaze in the Deutsche Bank building near ground zero last August. The cause was in part due to standpipes inside the building that had been cut prior to the blaze but had not inspected.
Although most buildings in the city are required to follow the New York City Building Code and allow building inspections by safety agencies, buildings owned by the federal or state governments, foreign governments, foreign organizations, and independent authorities are exempt from these construction and safety inspections. These group collectively own more than 800 major buildings in the city.
Stringer was joined by Joseph Graffagnino, father of one of the two fallen firefighters, and retired new York Fire Department (FDNY) Jim Riches to urge safety inspections and agreement with the building code that is presently in effect.
“If something goes wrong in a foreign embassy or a state building, it’s our firefighters that have to go up those stairs to save those lives if they don’t have a road map in those 885 buildings,” said Stringer.
Stringer’s five-point plan will gain knowledge of buildings not under the jurisdiction of the code, build on the practice of other organizations, extend inter-agency action, develop specific plans, and bring all exempt agencies under city code.
The plan will spur the creation of a public database of exempt buildings that outlines details of inspections for each building and whether the buildings correct the violations found.
While other federal operations can choose which safety provisions they deem most important, some federal authorities like the U.S. Postal Service have actively implemented local building codes. The plan would extend the practices of the Postal Service to all buildings in New York City.
Relationships with the Port Authority of both New York and New Jersey and other state authorities will be bridged to increase the influence of the city’s stringent codes.
The plan will also develop firefighting plans specific to each federal high-rise covered by the FDNY.
The final point in the plan involves engaging the New York congressional delegation to ensure inspection of and compliance with New York City building and fire codes in the new United Nations Secretariat and other U.N. Buildings.
The fire that consumed two firefighters last August, the former Deutsche Bank tower was owned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which exists under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The building was exempt from inspection and codes that may have played a part in the undetected cut standpipes.
“When you go in there to inspect the building, when we come out and say that there’s a million things wrong with it, they don’t have to do anything,” said retired deputy Riches. “But another building, we can shut them down and I can call and they'll fix it.”
Other buildings currently exempt that see the comings and going of many workers and travelers include U.N. buildings, U.S. Courthouses, MTA stations like Penn Station and Grand Central, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
The new plan was initiated after two firefighters died in a blaze in the Deutsche Bank building near ground zero last August. The cause was in part due to standpipes inside the building that had been cut prior to the blaze but had not inspected.
Although most buildings in the city are required to follow the New York City Building Code and allow building inspections by safety agencies, buildings owned by the federal or state governments, foreign governments, foreign organizations, and independent authorities are exempt from these construction and safety inspections. These group collectively own more than 800 major buildings in the city.
Stringer was joined by Joseph Graffagnino, father of one of the two fallen firefighters, and retired new York Fire Department (FDNY) Jim Riches to urge safety inspections and agreement with the building code that is presently in effect.
“If something goes wrong in a foreign embassy or a state building, it’s our firefighters that have to go up those stairs to save those lives if they don’t have a road map in those 885 buildings,” said Stringer.
Stringer’s five-point plan will gain knowledge of buildings not under the jurisdiction of the code, build on the practice of other organizations, extend inter-agency action, develop specific plans, and bring all exempt agencies under city code.
The plan will spur the creation of a public database of exempt buildings that outlines details of inspections for each building and whether the buildings correct the violations found.
While other federal operations can choose which safety provisions they deem most important, some federal authorities like the U.S. Postal Service have actively implemented local building codes. The plan would extend the practices of the Postal Service to all buildings in New York City.
Relationships with the Port Authority of both New York and New Jersey and other state authorities will be bridged to increase the influence of the city’s stringent codes.
The plan will also develop firefighting plans specific to each federal high-rise covered by the FDNY.
The final point in the plan involves engaging the New York congressional delegation to ensure inspection of and compliance with New York City building and fire codes in the new United Nations Secretariat and other U.N. Buildings.
The fire that consumed two firefighters last August, the former Deutsche Bank tower was owned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which exists under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The building was exempt from inspection and codes that may have played a part in the undetected cut standpipes.
“When you go in there to inspect the building, when we come out and say that there’s a million things wrong with it, they don’t have to do anything,” said retired deputy Riches. “But another building, we can shut them down and I can call and they'll fix it.”
Other buildings currently exempt that see the comings and going of many workers and travelers include U.N. buildings, U.S. Courthouses, MTA stations like Penn Station and Grand Central, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
