What do you do when an authority having jurisdiction owns an imminently hazardous building? 7

[throwaway69]

Throwaway account because my main has parts of my name.

I'm acting as a subconsultant on a historic facade restoration project for a municipal client. The unreinforced stucco on a part of the structure is in bad shape. One exposure has probably 10' by 10' sections which have de-laminated from the substrate and spalled. Given that it is unreinforced, it is basically only held in place along its edges. The condition has gotten worse since it was first inspected about a year ago, and at least one nearby maybe 1sf spall recently blew off the building during a storm and fell 45' to a pedestrian accessible area. The main spall is located about 35 feet directly above one of the primary pedestrian routes for the building complex (though it is largely closed - see below).

Our firm has covered our asses and informed the prime consultant in writing on at least 4 occasions and the municipality directly at least once. They don't seem to be taking it seriously based on their actions. They adjusted some fencing to keep people at bay. Right now the facility is closed, even though pedestrians can use the surrounding walkways. But overall there's no real need for anyone not working for the facility to use this particular foot traffic route right now.

My gut tells me when they're scheduled to re-open, the municipality is just going to take the fencing down and sweep this under the rug, leaving thousands of people per day to walk under this death trap where 2000# of concrete could come down in a strong wind. We've made different recommendations that are more than "remove the stucco" (e.g. protective bridging.)

If I was working directly for a private client I would call the municipality as soon as they moved those fences an inch. So my two questions -
With this being a municipal client who's ignoring me, who am I supposed to call? The municipality already knows, since it's their building, and I told them about it.
And do I have any different ethical obligations since I am a subconsultant with a municipal client?

TIA.

 

[r13]

Where ever you see a fence, walk around as far as you can.

A fact in mind, remember ice falling off tall buildings? I've seen good solution yet, shall we bar the towers for public safety?

 

[bones206]

A woman was killed in NYC recently (December I think) by falling facade. The building had been inspected previously and owners had neglected to fix the facade. The AHJ had issued citations to the owner. Yet, the sidewalk remained open and she died.

I wonder how all the people involved in that particular building inspection sleep at night now, even though they all technically acted correctly. I think the ultimate arbiter over how far you should go is your own conscience.

 

[IRstuff]

My recollection was that the woman in question was a reputed slumlord, not that it's relevant.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[bones206]

Yea. Who knows, maybe she could have become President some day.

 

[r13]

The AHJ had issued citations to the owner. Yet, the sidewalk remained open and she died.

The cities never learn, and that's why so many personal injury lawyers out there to get rich. In where I live, the street will be blocked until cleared/assured by follow up inspection on repairs (usually temporary measures), and street clean ups. But still, injuries occur all the time from those overhead hazard. The street closures are mostly, IMO, due to the fear of national exposure through news media though.

 

[throwaway69]

People are killed in New York City by falling facades all the time (usually a couple per year). It is an extremely challenging work climate because all these buildings are 100 years old, and in any area but the top 5-10% of neighborhoods the buildings are pretty consistently falling apart. The city mandates facade inspections every 5 years for buildings above a certain height. Once a building owner and the building department are notified of unsafe facade conditions the owners are obligated by law to install overhead protection on the sidewalks. But not every engineer takes the inspections seriously (and many are forced to surrender their ability to file inside the city as a result), and we can't force the owners to follow the law. Nor can the city. My understanding is that (by law) the Building Department can only step in and install the protection themselves if the building is so unsafe it has to be vacated. Maybe that will change.

If I had performed that inspection I would know there was nothing else I could do. Once the DOB starts violating people it's really their arena not mine. Knowing the worst outcomes of our practice is a very real consideration in doing business here.

If this was a NYC project the fencing wouldn't satisfy the law so we would have much more leverage to get them to cooperate. So there's a hint about where this project isn't located. And yes stay away. I've left my apartment like 6 times in the last 3 weeks mainly to take out trash. I still feel like it was too much.

 

[BAretired]

If the fencing isn't deemed adequate to prevent public access to the area of potential falling debris, that would render the situation more critical and necessitate taking remedial measures immediately.

BA