There are 33 specific recommendations in the report designed to strengthen agencies' inspection practices, increase notifications and data-sharing between agencies, and improve the safety of abatement and demolition operations. The report refamiliarizes agency enforcement efforts to focus on a shared set of fire-safety and life-safety concerns, regardless of which City agency is working at a site.
Bloomberg said at a press conference that "asbestos abatement, construction and demolition work have their own inherent risks, especially when they intersect. After months of exhaustive analysis and review, the group I asked Ed Skyler to convene to review this issue developed 33 recommendations to strengthen agency practices and improve safety, and today, I am accepting them in full."
Last fall, a working group of City agencies began its review of the regulation of demolition and abatement operations, agency practices regarding enforcement, and the way these operations are carried out in the field. The working group draws members from the Departments of Buildings, Environmental Protection, and Fire, as well as from the Mayor's Office of Operations and the Law Department. The City has already begun to implement some of the recommendations in the report immediately, and will work with industry stake holders and others to implement all 33 recommendations as quickly as possible. The recommendations fall into three groups: abatement operations; demolition operations; and inspections conducted by FDNY, DEP and DOB.
Deputy Mayor Skyler said that "instead of focusing narrowly on the regulatory roles of particular agencies, we looked broadly at all the component parts of construction, demolition and abatement, to assess these operations in terms of the overarching priority of public safety. After an exhaustive review, we have found 33 specific ways to improve safety for first responders, workers and all New Yorkers, and at the Mayor's direction, we will implement all of them as quickly as possible."
According to a prepared statement by the City, each year, approximately 5,000 asbestos abatement jobs take place in New York City. Some consist only of abatements, and some are undertaken in connection with other construction or demolition work. Large or complex abatement jobs can impact fire safety, and the report recommends that DEP should formally notify DOB and FDNY of any abatement jobs of a certain size or complexity. The report also recommends that DEP establish a permit requirement for large or complex abatement jobs, to ensure that the work plan is reviewed for public safety and construction issues.
The DOB has the primary responsibility for regulating demolitions in New York City and since 2002, DOB has issued approximately 5,000 demolition permits per year. Under current law, demolition activity requires a DOB permit, and FDNY is required under its rules to inspect construction and demolition sites every 15 days. According to a prepared statement, until late last year, FDNY did not receive formal notification from DOB that a construction or demolition permit had been issued at a particular site. The report recommends that DOB formally notify FDNY whenever a demolition permit is issued, and that a second notification should be made when DOB is alerted that demolition will actually commence.
Currently, the FDNY, the Buildings Department, and the Department of Environmental Protection perform inspections largely independent of each other. To integrate their work and make this process more effective, the report recommends that all three agencies prioritize their inspections according to certain risk factors--like a contractor's history of violations or the size and occupancy of a construction site. The report also recommends that DEP, DOB, and the FDNY incorporate each other's primary safety concerns to create a baseline set of common protocols for all inspections, regardless of which agency's inspector is at a particular site.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
