The amendments included qualifications for the exterior wall inspectors. Qualified Exterior Wall Inspectors (QEWI) need to be licensed civil or structural engineers, or New York State registered architects with one year of relevant experience, and need to have passed the Principles of Practice of Engineering examination, along with a bachelors or masters degree in either field.
Along with the new qualifications, many of the amendments were made to definitions concerning facade inspections. One resident at the meeting expressed that the standards for an unsafe building, were too vague, as they included buildings that were safe with a repair and maintenance program, thus grouping potentially dangerous unsafe buildings on the same level as those that arent.
Window air conditioners, however, are now to be listed as only either safe or unsafe. A time frame for safe with repair and maintenance program buildings also needs to be established with the Department.
In addition to definition amendments, the process for filing reports concerning faade inspections was elaborated in more detail. Buildings that are required to file such reports now need to file one during each five-year cycle established by the Department of Buildings.
The next cycle, cycle seven, runs from Feb. 21, 2010 to Feb. 20, 2015. The amendments also include a list of which buildings fall under which filing window, with dates and requirements of the reports necessary.
The list of amendments can be found online at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/rule_32-03_facade_hearing.pdf
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