Res. No. 830 Title Resolution calling upon the Department of Buildings to enforce the New York City Building Code with regards to the safety of exterior walls in order to prevent the collapse of exterior walls as occurred at 1195 Sherman Avenue in the Bronx on April 2, 2003 and to encourage the installation of barriers in parking lots adjacent to buildings so as to prevent contact with exterior walls. Body By Council Members Foster, Barron, Comrie, Gerson, Jackson, Quinn, Sanders, Seabrook, Serrano and Vann Whereas, An exterior wall of the six story apartment building at 1195 Sherman Avenue in the Bronx collapsed on April 2, 2003, requiring the evacuation of the entire apartment building and the emergency services of the Red Cross to provide housing for the affected tenants; and Whereas, The Building Code requires that property owners maintain the integrity of exterior walls, yet there were existing violations regarding the exterior walls of 1195 Sherman Avenue that the owner had not corrected in a timely manner; and Whereas, Owners of a property on which a parking lot is located should be required to install barriers to prevent vehicles in those lots from making contact with the exterior walls of buildings adjacent to such lots; and Whereas, It is the responsibility of the Department of Buildings to inspect exterior walls of buildings, record violations where appropriate, issue orders to correct, and re-inspect such buildings to determine if there has been compliance in a timely manner; and Whereas, When the Department of Buildings determines that there has been a lack of compliance, then the Department should affirmatively act to enforce compliance and protect the safety of the public; now, therefore, be it Resolved that the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of Buildings to enforce the New York City Building Code with regards to the safety of exterior walls in order to prevent the collapse of exterior walls as occurred at 1195 Sherman Avenue in the Bronx on April 2, 2003 and to encourage the installation of barriers in parking lots adjacent to buildings so as to prevent contact with exterior walls. LS# 2238 04/24/03 TN/dd (examined by) |1013|