The New York City Department of Buildings has ordered residents in 16 buildings in the city to stop using their balconies because inspections have found them unsafe.
The department started making inspections after Connor Donohue fell to his death March 14 when a railing on his 24th floor balcony gave way at 330 East 39th Street.
Building Department inspectors have been conducting street-level examinations and have also found that about 800 building owners have failed to file inspection reports on the safety of their balconies and terraces that are required every five years in buildings of more than six stories, according to an article by Marc Santora in today's edition of The New York Times.
In the buildings where residents were notified not to use their balconies residents were also warned that inspectors saw anyone on the balconies, the article continued, "they would seal off the outdoor space."
A spokesman for the department told The Times that its inspectors and engineers "have visited more than 530 buildings across the city to determine whether the property owners maintained the exterior of their buildings, including balconies."
Among the buildings where residents were told to stay off their balconies were seven at Co-op City, the enormous high-rise residential development in the Baychester section of The Bronx.
The department started making inspections after Connor Donohue fell to his death March 14 when a railing on his 24th floor balcony gave way at 330 East 39th Street.
Building Department inspectors have been conducting street-level examinations and have also found that about 800 building owners have failed to file inspection reports on the safety of their balconies and terraces that are required every five years in buildings of more than six stories, according to an article by Marc Santora in today's edition of The New York Times.
In the buildings where residents were notified not to use their balconies residents were also warned that inspectors saw anyone on the balconies, the article continued, "they would seal off the outdoor space."
A spokesman for the department told The Times that its inspectors and engineers "have visited more than 530 buildings across the city to determine whether the property owners maintained the exterior of their buildings, including balconies."
Among the buildings where residents were told to stay off their balconies were seven at Co-op City, the enormous high-rise residential development in the Baychester section of The Bronx.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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