Scaffolding is all over the city for The building department is putting pressure on landlords. Walk around the city they are on almost every block. The scaffolding companies get a monthly rate and a installation and removal fee. Have you ever wondered who is responsible if the scaffolding falls and injures a person. Also when the scaffolding goes up and comes down what are the city rules. I see people walking underneath a scaffolding when it comes down all the time. more regulations are needed. Maybe the scaffolding needs scaffolding. Lol!
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I live in a 8 apartment rental building on the UES. I have been here for over 40 years and do not ever recall scaffolding or any building repairs to the facade. Is it possible that my building is not being inspected and there could be issues that are not being addressed?
Buildings must start the inspection and repair process to comply with NYC Local Law 11. Once the scaffolding is up, it stops the City from fining the building. This accounts for so many buildings that seem to have scaffolding up for years, but with no work happening. In all but the most damaged structures, it should not more than 6 months to a year to get the work done. Perhaps the scaffolding rental is a better tradeoff that the City fines? This is a law with some unfortunate unintended consequences and really should get fixed. It's bad enough to have to walk past scaffolding that seems to be there forever, but to live behind it must be awful.
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Grinding out old mortar does not have to be messy and create a problem for residents.
I used a dust collection system when I re-pointed my 3 story brick building. The Bosch grinder has a cover over the blade. The cover has a round port that is hooked up, via a long hose, to a strong shop vacuum (I used a Rigid 5 amp model). This setup captured about 98% of the dust created by the grinding.
I didn't receive any complaints about the dust. The noise was the issue.
Local ordinances require a dust blocking system to control the dust (cover the outside of the scaffold with a tarp). The dust capture system accomplishes the same objective.
But what about when the work is done? Our building has been under shed scaffolding for over 1100 days. The facade work under Local Law 11 is completed according to the building management. Indeed a full strip of the scaffold from the top of the building to the shed was taken down one month ago. I asked when the rest would be done, management says they are waiting for DOB to inspect and it could take two weeks, two months, no one knows. I followed up with the DOB who said there is no time frame for inspection. Also, I cannot, as a tenant, see whether the building did indeed request inspection. There is no 311 complaint to be made since I am not saying the scaffold is unsafe or defective. We are a rental with market, stabilized and controlled tenants. Is there any recourse to at least complain that the city that says it's concerned about scaffold get here and do the inspection so this scaffold can come down?
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My former condo's agents kept the owners informed with weekly reports about where work would be done and why. Even netting locations for the week were noted.
Deadlines were also provided, and delays explained.
It is inexcusable that management in the LW's building seems to be doing nothing.
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Forget about months, there are at least three buildings in my area that have had scaffolding for years even decades.
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Hi -
Attend a board meeting and ask questions. Get copies of meeting minutes from previous meetings. I'd be very concerned as the project may not be on time or budget. Is there a special assessment on the way?
Ask the workers what they are doing and why it is taking so long.
In the meantime, get some blackout curtains or seal the windows with plastic.
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When work is being done that requires scaffolding, it is rented for a certain period of time. So if work is expected to take 5 months, but the scaffolding company requires a 6 month rental minimum, the contractor doing the work has to pay for the full 6 months and then will leave it up vs pay for it to be stored for a month. My building is currently going through this. Our contractor will need to work on the building for 6 weeks, but the scaffolding will be up for 3 months due to the rental requirements.
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@Jason Marshall If the work is completed, and you're paying for the scaffolding for a period of time, I would want it taken down. What advantage is there to keeping it up?
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@justme If you leave it up, you are just paying for the rental. If you take it down, you are on the hook for the rental AND a storage fee.
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@Nicole that's crazy but thanks for the explanation. Would think it could just go up somewhere else.
If a building is going to put scaffolding on a public sidewalk, the city should be charging them a fee for that. Maybe $1/day/foot of sidewalk? That would provide an incentive to get the work done (and the scaffolding down) promptly.
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Landlords should be given deadlines for repairs. I have lived in NYC for six months, and have watched scaffolding "take over" the skyscape. It is a visual assault. Wherever I look, I see scaffolding. I think NYC should create a "Commissioner of Aesthetics" position, and the elected official should address this problem. Or, the mayor could appoint someone like Bess Meyerson or Jacqueline Kennedy.
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What about the four and five story buildings? Why aren't they inspected ? Ours is about to fall down! There is so much missing mortar between the bricks I can fit my whole hand in there.
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@Jt
Sadly, your building is not covered by this law: "NYC's “Façade Inspection Safety Program” (FISP), previously known as Local Law 11, requires ... buildings with more than six stories above grade have their exterior walls and appurtenances inspected periodically..."
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The reader "on the second floor of a West Village co-op" could move out temporarily and sue the co-op board for undue pain adsufferng.
An additional retaliatory measure might be to inject dust into the board-members' apartments.
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Every 5 years seems excessive and unnecessary. It creates an eyesore as about a third of buildings on the UES have scaffolding up at any given time. The scaffolding goes up, the work takes a year or so then inspection so 18 months -- and then you are only 3 1/2 years away from the next one. Created a lot of profits for scaffolding companies I guess.
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@LA The scaffolding does not have to go up unless an inspection reveals problems. Scaffolding is not required to do the actual inspection.
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I find it utterly mind-boggling that there can't be some sort of time limit attached to how long this can last. There has to be some sort of reasonable expectation that the inspection and repair work will be carried out ASAP. Anything more than several months seems grossly excessive.
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@Sparky Isn't it up to the coop Board who authorised the work and hired the company to put some time stipulation in the contract?
18 months seems absurd.
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I called my local city council office to complain about scaffolding on the UWS that became a homeless shelter and a parking space for bikes. I wouldn't have called if I saw work going on at the building. Scaffolding finally came down.
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@John E.Just curious—do you think your call had any effect?
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If you have double hung sash windows (windows that you open by raising a lower panel), there might be a gap between the two panels when the window is closed. If you put a small rolled towel in the gap between the 2 panels, the amount of dust coming in might be reduced.
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@Sylvia But why should the LW have to?
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@Sylvia
Far better to get a role of weather-stripping specifically designed to alleviate this problem. You can also get temporary plastic sheeting which sticks to the window inside, forming a seal. Sold in many retailers, or on-line.
However, many of the old windows in NYC have been replaced by newer, much more tightly sealed, double-glazed windows and frames. Hope this is the case when repointing brings dust and other problems.
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@PrairieFlax Self-preservation.
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How can you live in a coop and not be aware of the reasons for the scaffolding and the results of the work?
Shareholders are usually notified way in advance about this kind of major project, often because they are assessed to help pay for it, and surely the managing agent can fill apartment occupants about the length of time the work will go on, and what the work entails.
Unless you’ve been away for a while, what could be the reason you don’t know much about the project, or how to cope with the unpleasant results of it?
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Pointing and brick replacement along with all the other aspects of facade work present not only dangerous noise levels, but also toxic “dust”.
My building, along with what seems every single other pre war building on WEA, have been doing the city mandated fixes to eroded brick and mortar.
The so called dust, contains silica and possibly asbestos. The city regulations ( EPA DEP) outline what is acceptable as far as decibel levels and particulate. Getting inspectors to assess the work isn’t easy and even if you are able to have them come to the building, they do not issue any violations. If violations are cited, the monetary sum is minimal and not a deterrent to the contractor.
Ear plugs, sealed windows and air filters are your best bet to protect yourself. No one else will comply with the codes, or do much of anything n your behalf.
Enforcement is a joke in NYC.
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@Mimi
Yes, true. Also the 'two minute idling law' has anyone ever gotten a ticket for that?
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@Jt I thought it was 3 minutes, and I wish there was enforcement, especially diesel particulate spewing Access-A-Ride vehicles and trucks. Sometimes people like to breathe.
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@Jt
Yup, article in the Post about it just in the last couple of days.
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Though situation but sounds like you just have to live with it until the work is complete Repointing if that is project can take a couple of years for a large building.
A lot of other residents have the scaffolding too. As for privacy just put a sheer window covering that will let in light. Kinda doubt the workers even notice much less look in your apartment.
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I think a public listing of the acitivities warranting scaffoding should be available on a daily basis with an estimated time of completion. Our neighborhood is blighted by sidewalk sheds that go up and never come down for years. Rarely is any work visibly progressing. Has anybody studied the accident rates from falling objects since implementation of local law 11.
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If there is dust, it is likely that the old mortar is being removed by grinding prior to repointing. Failure to keep the pointing in good condition can lead to leakage that will eventually manifest itself as peeling paint and falling plaster. Sometimes the "lintel," often a metal bar that holds up the brickwork above a window, needs to be replaced. This entails removing several rows of bricks so a new bar can be installed. Grinding is a messy and noisy business. You may find abrasive from the discs embedded in your window glass afterwards, and your window screens, if present, can be damaged.
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