New York: Thousands of residents in 16 buildings across New York City have been ordered to stop using balconies that were found to be unsafe by the Department of Buildings.
The warnings came as inspectors conducted safety reviews around the city after a man fell to his death in March when part of the railing on his balcony gave way.
Inspectors have also found that about 800 building owners have failed to file inspection reports, required every five years, demonstrating the safety of their balconies and terraces.
Teams have been conducting street-level examinations, with inspectors and engineers peering up at balconies with binoculars and entering buildings for physical inspections. They have found loose railings, crumbing concrete and unsecured railing posts.
"Our inspectors and engineers have visited more than 530 buildings across the city to determine whether the property owners maintained the exterior of their buildings, including balconies," said Tony Sclafani, the chief spokesman for the Department of Buildings.
The enforcement effort is one of the most sweeping on balcony safety in years, and city officials said it was in its early stages.
After focusing on 330 East 39th Street in Manhattan, where the man, Connor Donohue, 24, fell to his death on March 14 from his 24th-floor balcony, inspectors concentrated on the hundreds of buildings whose owners have not filed the reports. Inspectors have also zeroed in on buildings constructed around the same time as the one at 330 East 39th Street and with architectural features similar to those of that building.
One of the first to come to their attention was a 42-story apartment tower at Broadway and 70th Street. Built in 1972, the building is studded with concrete balconies with metal railings -- as are dozens of buildings in the city constructed in the same decade.
Residents of the tower were surprised when they arrived home last week to find notices from the city telling them they were forbidden to use their balconies. They were also warned that if inspectors from the Department of Buildings saw anyone on a balcony, they would seal off the outdoor space, residents said.
"My first reaction was, Oh, my God, thank goodness nothing happened," said a woman who lives in the building but declined to give her name for fear of angering members of her co-op.
The woman said some of her neighbors were trying to sell their apartments and were worried that a balcony deemed a safety hazard would not be attractive to potential buyers.
The buildings affected by the sweep so far are in every borough except Brooklyn.
At Co-op City, the sprawling development in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx that was completed in the 1970s, the residents of seven buildings have been ordered to stop using their balconies, officials said. The owners of every building in New York City more than six stories tall are required by law to conduct inspections of balconies and facades every five years.
After the death on East 39th Street, inspectors found that the company that manages the rental building, Pan Am Equities, had not filed a proper inspection report with the Department of Buildings in 10 years. The company was fined about $11,000 for failing to appear at hearings related to the delinquent inspections.
After further investigation, it was discovered that deadlines for filing reports had been missed for 10 other properties managed by the company, city officials said.
A spokesman for Pan Am Equities said that notices about the hearings were mailed to the wrong address and that an outside engineer hired by the company was responsible for not filing the proper reports.
"Pan Am Equities hired an independent consulting engineer to do inspections on all the buildings in a timely manner," said William T. Cunningham of the public relations firm Dan Klores Communications, which was hired to represent Pan Am. "Some reports were filed, and some reports were declined by the Department of Buildings pending additional information."
City officials said they were working with added urgency because balconies are used most this time of year, which makes an order to stay off them more difficult to enforce.
At the East 39th Street apartment tower, residents were twice observed going out on balconies by city inspectors after the order was given to stay off them. After the first case, the building's owner was fined. After the second, the owner was ordered to lock and seal all the doors leading to the balconies.