NEW YORK — A year ago, a deadly New York City parking garage collapse sparked calls for more supervisionbut CBS New York investigator Mahsa Saeidi has discovered that inspections for hundreds of garages in the city are backlogged.
According to the Ministry of Buildings, more than 400 garages have not completed mandatory inspections. More than 100 days have passed since the deadline, but the city says their enforcement plan is working.
Manager killed in Lower Manhattan parking garage collapse; neighbors displaced
Willis Moore never met his grandchild. The beloved parking garage manager was killed when his workplace at 57 Ann St. collapsed.
A video from the garage captured that moment.
Dozens of heavy-duty SUVs tumbled, sending four workers to the hospital.
The the entire neighborhood was affectedincluding the Cohen family, who lived on the block.
says Adam Cohen his children were displaced for monthsultimately forced to start over in a new house and at a new school.
“The impact on my children was severe,” he said. “That day in April changed my life.”
How Does NYC Enforce Parking Garage Inspection Requirements?
“They didn’t inspect these garages before your legislation?” Saeidi asked.
“There was no inspection of garages unless they were under construction or undergoing major renovations,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
While serving as a councilman, Levine co-sponsored a bill requiring periodic inspections of garages. Owners are now responsible for hiring engineers to identify and resolve unsafe conditions.
The The first group ordered to be surveyed included 1,046 garages in Manhattan. Photos in city registers show what inspectors found — structures are cracked, concrete is crumbling and beams are severely corroded.
Currently, 111 garages deemed unsafe by the DOB are partially closed until repairs are made, but CBS New York Investigates has found that not everyone is following the rules. There are 429 garages that have still not done this inspection, even though the deadline was last year.
“That’s not acceptable. This is a safety issue,” Levine said. “We need compliance, and if that requires heavier fines, we need to increase those fines.”
Currently, garages that do not comply with the rules face a fine of $1,000 per month.
Commissioner of Buildings Jimmy Oddo is responsible for ensuring that structures meet requirements. Assistant Commissioner Yegal Shamash is overseeing that effort.
“We hold building owners accountable. Those building owners must hire an engineer qualified to perform these inspections,” Shamash said.
‘Do you have any idea why they don’t do this? Don’t they know anything about it? Don’t they have the money to hire these inspectors?’ Saeidi said.
“I think it’s important to realize that there was a certain number of reports that came in by the deadline. But since that deadline, we’ve had over 100 reports come in,” Shamash said.
Shamash says compliance only takes time. He points to the success the department has had with another program: facade inspections. Unlike parking garages, this has been around for 44 years.
“We have a 96 percent compliance rate for facades and we are confident that we will achieve an equal or even higher compliance rate for parking structures,” Shamash said.
Adam Cohen hopes that’s true, and that it happens soon.
These garage inspections should occur every six years. In the aftermath of the Ann Street collapse, there was an attempt to bring all these structures to attention earlier. Therefore, garage owners must carry out a visual inspection from August 1 to detect any urgent problems.
