10 North Shore Towers Courier n September 2016 Necessary Evil By Stephen Vratos You probably have noticed the recent erection of scaffolding along the façades of the buildings and over the adjoining walkways. This scaffolding is the result of management’s complying with New York State’s Local Law 11. The topic of Local Law 11 may have been overshadowed at the Town Hall meeting held on Monday, August 1, in Towers on the Green, by the initiative to convert North Shore Towers to a smokefree environment (see PAGE 4), but the ordnance’s impact is no less important, nor impactful to the cooperative’s quality of life. Local Law 11 mandates that any building rising more than six stories must have its facades inspected every five years with any subsequent repairs being made, during which process scaffolding must be emplaced to insure the safety of those walking beneath. The history of the law, as recounted by General Manager Glen Kotowski, traces back to 1980, when a Columbia University student fell victim to debris falling from the aging façade of one of the building on campus. The tragic incident initially led to ordnance Local Law 10, which stated that buildings of six stories or more were required to erect scaffolding along each street side until an inspection could be conducted to determine the façade’s integrity. Building owners quickly discovered it was easier and cheaper to keep scaffolding in place and not make any necessary repairs, which led Local Law 11, which follows the same dictates as its predecessor, but with the added requirement of necessary repairs being done after inspection. More than 15,000 New York City buildings exceeding six stories, all vying for the resources of companies that erect scaffolding and conduct these types of necessary repairs, makes complying with Local 11 an expensive and massive undertaking. No less so for North Shore Towers. With its three 33-story buildings, there are more than 2,100 terraces, each and every one of which needs to be inspected, equaling 9 scaffolding drops per face per building or a total of 27 drops per tower. According to Kotowski, there are three possible outcomes to the inspections; 1) Unsafe; 2) Safe with ongoing maintenance repairs; or 3) Safe without need of sidewalk bridging. After a preliminary inspection from ground-level, Kotowski and his crew believe the inspection will result in a #2 filing. Thus, the erection of the bridgework over the sidewalks to mitigate delays when the results of the inspection are known. The anticipated work is expected to take at least least two years, so anything that can be done to reduce that time without compromising safety will be undertaken. As to the exact nature of the repairs, that has yet to be determined until inspectors can get a closer look at each balcony via the scaffolding. It is important to remember that North Shore Towers is more than forty-years-old. Over four decades, Headache it may be, but Local Law 11 will ensure the safety and value of North Shore Towers for the next 40 years the insertion points of the railings in the terraces have suffered water penetration, which has caused expansion and contraction with the fluctuation of temperatures. This, in turn, creates cracks and areas in danger of breaking and falling. 3 million dollars has already been allocated in the capital budget for 2017 to handle the repairs and it is hoped that costs will not exceed this amount. But each scaffolding drop alone costs $3,500 dollars. Kotowski warned of imminent hammering and other noise while repairs are being made, but assured residents that all work would be conducted during daytime hours. Also, maintenance will do everything in their power to warn residents when work will be undertaken in the area of their apartments. In the meantime, Kotowski is asking residents to alert the maintenance staff of any loose tiles on their terraces so they can remove them safely and reduce the possible risk of serious accident. “The terraces are in no danger of collapsing,” Board Member and career building engineer Mario Carmiciano assured. “It will be a little bit of a pain, but in the long run, it will help keep the value of the buildings and make you safer,” Kotowski said. “Overall your safety is our paramount concern.” Walkways between Towers get protective scaffolding as well Webwork of scaffolding surrounds Building #1
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