INSIGHTS
Straight answers on façades and Local Law 11
Questions you bring us about your façade, answered the way we'd answer them standing in your lobby.
Every article starts from a question someone asked us. We cite the rule that answers it, then say what we'd do next if it were our building.
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How to get your sidewalk shed down in 2026
Shed permits now run 90 days at a time, stalled sheds face per-foot fines, and a new shed over an Unsafe façade starts a two-year repair deadline. What that means for your building, and the order of work that gets the shed down soonest.
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SWARMP vs. Unsafe: what your FISP report is telling you
Your QEWI sorted every condition on your façade into one of three classes. The class sets how fast you have to act and whether a shed goes up on your sidewalk.
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Our engineer filed Unsafe. What happens in the next 90 days?
An Unsafe filing starts a 90-day clock the day it's submitted. Here is the order things have to happen in and who owns each step, with the places buildings usually lose time.
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Local Law 126 parapet observations: who needs one and what they find
Since 2024, most buildings with a parapet over the street need a parapet observation every year, however tall they are. Who's covered, who can do it, what the report has to contain, and what tends to turn up.
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How to compare façade repair proposals, line by line
When three façade proposals look nothing alike, they usually describe three different jobs. How to get every contractor answering the same scope, and how to spot the proposal that grows after you sign.
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What shapes a façade restoration in NYC
Two walls of the same size can be very different jobs. This is what decides how much work your façade needs, and how long the crews and the shed stay on it.
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Why the brick cracks above your windows: rusting lintels and shelf angles
Stair-step cracks over window heads and bulging brick at floor lines usually trace back to steel you can't see. Patching the brick won't hold until that steel is treated or replaced.
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White glazed brick buildings: why they fail and how they're fixed
The glaze that made post-war towers look clean also slows how fast the wall dries. That is where the spalling starts, and it should shape the repair your board picks.
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Terra cotta: repair it, replace it, or use GFRC?
Most terra cotta damage starts at a rusting anchor you can't see from the street. How to tell what can be saved, and how the replacement materials compare when it can't.
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Local Law 49 of 2025 and the next FISP cycle: what's changed and what hasn't
The law is in effect, but the rule that would use it isn't, and your Cycle 10 deadline hasn't moved. What the law and the city's study say, and how to plan until DOB writes a rule.
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Façade work on a landmarked building: permits, matches and timing
Exterior work on a landmark or in a historic district needs an LPC permit before it starts. Here is which permit you need, what's exempt, and where the time goes.
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Façade projects in co-ops and condos: a guide for boards
How to turn a FISP report into a plan your board can approve and residents can live with, and why waiting usually makes the job bigger.