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If your building is six stories or taller, NYC requires a facade inspection every five years under the Facade Inspection Safety Program, still widely known by its original name, Local Law 11.
ABC Masonry & Stucco Contractors is the contractor building owners and managing agents call when a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector’s report turns up cracked masonry, spalling stucco, rusted lintels, or a leaning parapet.
We perform the physical repair work needed to close it out and keep the building off the DOB’s radar for good.
New York’s facade inspection law exists because of a specific, preventable tragedy. On May 16, 1979, 17-year-old Barnard College freshman Grace Gold was killed on Broadway near 115th Street when a piece of loose masonry fell eight stories from a Columbia University-owned building.
Her death led the City Council to pass Local Law 10 in 1980, requiring inspection of street-facing facades on buildings over six stories every five years. In 1998, following a partial building collapse on Madison Avenue, the law was expanded and recodified as Local Law 11.
Thus extending the inspection requirement to every exterior wall and mandating hands-on, close-up examination from a scaffold or drop platform rather than binoculars from the sidewalk. Today the program is formally called the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), governed by NYC Administrative Code §28-302 and DOB Rule 1 RCNY §103-04.
Every qualifying building must be examined by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI). They are typically a licensed architect or structural engineer who files a report through DOB NOW: Safety.
The law has not eliminated the danger it targets. On December 17, 2019, architect Erica Tishman was struck and killed by falling terra cotta from 729 Seventh Avenue near Times Square.
DOB records showed the building’s owner had been cited eight months earlier for damaged terra cotta creating a falling hazard for pedestrians, and had obtained repair permits back in 2018 but never completed the work or installed a sidewalk shed.
The owner was later charged criminally under the city’s Administrative Code, and Tishman’s widower filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the ownership group. In the aftermath, DOB doubled its facade inspection staff and swept 1,300 buildings citywide, issuing 222 new violations.
The case is now the textbook example engineers and attorneys cite for why a SWARMP or Unsafe finding can’t sit on a shelf.
Every FISP report classifies a facade as Safe, SWARMP (Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program), or Unsafe. A SWARMP or Unsafe rating starts a compliance clock, and missing it compounds quickly.
Violation Type | Penalty |
Late initial filing | $1,000/month, calculated retroactively from the deadline |
No report filed at all | $5,000/year, on top of monthly late fees |
Failure to correct an Unsafe condition | $1,000+/month, escalating after the first year |
Failure to complete a SWARMP repair within the cycle | $2,000 penalty; reclassification to Unsafe likely |
Unsafe classification, ongoing | Mandatory sidewalk shed, commonly $30,000+/year to maintain |
Failure to produce required parapet observation logs | $1,250 to $10,000 |
Cycle 10, the current five-year inspection cycle, splits the city’s buildings into three filing windows based on the last digit of the tax block number:
A building that missed a Cycle 9 filing can submit early to stop penalties from continuing to stack.
Most citations fall into a handful of categories. Our team handles every one in-house, with no subcontracting the actual repair work to a third party after your QEWI files the report.
Common Citation | Our Repair Service |
Cracked, spalling, or loose brick and mortar | Masonry repair and brick pointing |
Cracking, delamination, or hollow-sounding stucco | Stucco repair and patching |
Rusted, displaced, or failing steel lintels | Window lintel repair and replacement |
Deteriorating or leaning parapet walls | Parapet wall rebuild and repair |
Failed coatings, water staining on the facade | Thorocoat and Thoroseal application |
EIFS panel cracking or seam failure | EIFS installation and repair |
We start by reading the filed report or violation notice to understand exactly what’s cited: a SWARMP item, an Unsafe condition, or a specific DOB violation number, before quoting any work.
Our team performs an on-site assessment, often coordinating directly with the building’s registered architect or engineer to confirm the repair scope matches what DOB requires to close the violation.
Facade work above the second floor typically requires DOB permits and protective scaffolding. We manage that logistics layer so your board or management company isn’t chasing separate vendors.
Once repairs are complete, we provide the documentation your architect or engineer needs to certify the violation corrected with DOB, closing the loop on the building’s obligation.
If you’d like to verify your building’s compliance or review the official requirements, consult the NYC DOB Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) overview and DOB NOW: Safety for filing and report submissions. Use the DOB Building Information System (BIS) to check your building’s status.
ACRIS to locate your block and lot information, and 1 RCNY §103-04, which contains the complete FISP regulations. These official resources can help property owners, co-op boards, condo associations, and property managers confirm compliance and filing requirements before scheduling repairs or inspections.
ABC Masonry & Stucco Contractors performs FISP-related facade repairs on residential co-ops, condos, and commercial buildings throughout:
Whether your building has an open SWARMP condition, an Unsafe classification, or you’re simply preparing ahead of a Cycle 10 deadline, ABC Masonry & Stucco Contractors is here to help.
Call today or submit our contact form for a free Local Law 11 assessment.
info@stuccocontractorsnyc.com
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