DOB Adds Inspectors – and Costs – to Capital Projects

The road to hell is paved with good intentions – and, for many co-op and condo boards, with red tape. 

In a push to improve public safety, the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) added about 140 building inspectors last year. Timothy Hogan, DOB’s deputy commissioner of enforcement, says the new hires are part of an effort “to increase the number of inspections and increase the service levels for permits, as well as reduce the response time to complaints from the public about unsafe construction.” Intentions don’t get much better than that. 

New inspectors receive six weeks of classroom training and six weeks of on-the-job training under supervision, Hogan says, adding that the DOB expects to continue hiring inspectors. 

“I think most of these people are well-intentioned,” says a respected New York City architect who did not want to be named for fear of DOB reprisals. He and other architects and engineers who work with co-op and condo boards, frequently on mandated Local Law 11 work, have begun to grumble that the inspectors are adding unnecessary red tape – and costs – to their projects. 

For instance, when one inspector noticed colored grout on brickwork through his binoculars, an architect reports, he wrote up a violation as a dangerous condition needing replacement. The co-op board tried to appeal the issue, but ultimately gave up and paid tens of thousands of dollars for unnecessary repairs rather than face reprisals in the way of additional violations. 

“We had a concrete repair job that should’ve cost a building owner $1,000,” says another architect. “The city demands we file for a permit, create drawings; contractors need to provide documentation. By the time all of these demands were met, the owner spent $50,000 to complete a very simple job.” 

Steven Varone, president of RAND Engineering & Architecture, feels differently. “The laws are there for a reason,” he says, “and they are keeping us safe.” While acknowledging that the bureaucracy needs to be navigated even for simple repairs and alterations, he notes that the laws are rigid and inspectors, both new and seasoned, are following regulations. “Having new inspectors being overly cautious is better than the days when it was much less regulated, and you had unqualified engineers and architects making inspections because DOB didn’t have the time or manpower to check what was being done,” Varone says. 

“Both boards and individuals have the responsibility of helping us keep the public safe,” DOB’s Hogan says. “If there’s ice hanging over walkways, get it addressed immediately. Make sure the facades of their buildings are inspected. If your building is less than seven floors, you don’t have to file a report every five years, but you’re not absolved of responsibility to maintain the premises.” 

Varone adds, “People complain about DOB inspections, but in the end, the reason all this exists is for public safety. To blame the inspectors and the DOB, when all they’re trying to do is carry out the law, that’s not fair.”