Parking Garage Inspections

The DOB has officially released Local Law 126 of 2021, which requires Periodic Inspections of Parking Structures.

The inspection windows for parking structures will be the following:

• Manhattan Community Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: January 1, 2022 – December 31,
• Manhattan Community Districts 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and Brooklyn Community Districts: January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2025
• Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island Community Districts: January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027

UPDATE: The DOB recently made an update to this law requiring every parking structure in the city to have a one-time initial observation of the parking structure performed (or under direct supervision) of a QPSI, with a report filed to the DOB by August 1, 2024.

This law aims to protect the public from parking structure failure and improve regular and routine maintenance of these facilities which are often neglected as “out of sight, out of mind.” The law will require:

• An assessment to be performed by a Professional Engineer (PE) and a report filed with DOB every 6 years for the Parking Garage Structures.  
• Filing cycles will be broken down into 2 year sub-cycles by community districts. Find out which community district your building is in here. 

Classifications:

The QPSI will file their report with the DOB with one of the following classifications:
SAFE, UNSAFE, Safe with Repair and/or Engineering Monitoring.

When a garage is classified: Safe with Repair and/or Engineering Monitoring the following must take place:

• Identify proposed monitoring program
• Identify engineer per forming monitoring
• Stability analysis with factor of safety showing structure is stable under anticipated loads

When a garage is classified: UNSAFE the following must take place:

• Maintain Public Safety
• Notify the DOB
• Repairs to the condition must take place

Fees and Penalties:

Unsafe conditions must be corrected within 90 days of filing a report with an Unsafe status. An amended report must then be filed within two weeks of completing the repairs. If the repairs are not completed and an amended report is not filed within this timeframe, time extension requests are to be filed with the DOB and are subject to review and acceptance.

DOB Fees:

• Initial Report – $305.00
• Amended/Subsequent Report – $85.00
• Extension Request – $65.00

The following penalties apply after the filing period ends:

• Late Filing (initial report) – $1,000 per month
• Failure to File (initial report) – $5,000 per year
• Failure to Correct Unsafe Conditions – $1,000 per month
• Failure to Correct SREM Conditions – $2,000 (one time)

HLZAE is here to help you evaluate your structure and prepare. We can complete a walk through now and identify any areas of concern to better prepare your building for the regulation and ensure compliance. 

HLZAE Contacts:

• Ilya Shtulberg, P.E. – Senior Structural Associate
• Bryan Chester, P.E. – Senior Project Manager
• Stephanie Bush, R.A. – Executive Director, Operations