Important Update!

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An essential piece of city life, garages can be one of the most vulnerable pieces of infrastructure on your property. Water intrusion coupled with road salt from cars can contribute to observable deterioration occurring within garage’s concrete at a faster rate compared to other areas along the property. Left untreated, this can lead to corrosion of the support rebar and foundation of the structure, potentially compromising the integrity of the entire property.

Overview - Local Law 126 / Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures (PIPS) Program

Passed in 2021 and effective as of January of 2022, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has rolled out Local Law 126 (also known as the Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures [PIPS] program), calling for a routine garage inspection program, similar to that of the Local Law 11/FISP currently in place for building facades. Several incidents have prompted the creation of this program, such as neglect of a garage caused the foundation of a Florida building to become unsafe and collapse, as well as other garage collapses such as the one in Johnson City, New York in 2015. Now, an inspection is required on parking garages once every 6 years, followed by the implementation of any repairs to ensure the garage and its structural components are maintained in a safe condition.

New York City's Local Law 126 of 2021 introduced framework to enhance the safety and integrity of parking structures within the city, which are particularly susceptible to structural failures due to factors such as accelerated aging due to heavy vehicle usage, corrosion from moisture and deicing salts, and insufficient maintenance. Given the ever-increasing demand for parking spaces and the potential risks associated with aging or inadequately maintained structures, this legislation is vital in maintaining safety. A thorough understanding of the mandatory parking inspections rule can help parking structure owners navigate the inspection process, fulfill their compliance responsibilities, prevent penalties, and maintain the safety of their structures, customers, employees, and the public at large.

Inspection Requirements

Under the new law, parking structure owners must engage a New York State licensed professional engineer who has also been designated as a Qualified Parking Structure Inspector (QPSI) by the DOB to perform the assessment. A QPSI must have a minimum of three years of relevant experience in parking structures and undergo the DOB’s formal certification process. Along with the assessment, the QPSI will file a condition assessment report with the DOB that classifies the structure as either Safe, Safe with Repairs and/or Engineering Monitoring (SREM), or Unsafe.

As part of the inspection and assessment process, the following relevant information will be reviewed (if available):

• Structural design and/or repair drawings
• Type of construction
• Age of construction
• Maintenance and repair history
• Environmental conditions
• Existing appurtenances
• Past and/or current violations
• Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) reports (where applicable)

Note: Once the second PIPS cycle begins (and for all subsequent cycles), additional materials will be reviewed such as the previous report along with annual observation checklists completed since the prior cycle.

All parking structure inspections are performed via a combination of visual and hands-on evaluations including:

• Utilization of high-powered binoculars (where necessary) and high-resolution cameras
• Physically inspecting (at a minimum 10% of each type of structural element (e.g. beams, columns, slabs) within the parking structure
• Sounding, load tests, samples (where applicable), etc.

Note: The facade of the parking structure is excluded if the building is already subject to FISP requirements, or the parking structure takes up less than 50% of the total building square footage.

Report Requirements

The condition assessment report will be compiled following the necessary inspection(s) to include documentation of the following:

• Existing conditions
• Description of the structure’s load-resisting system
• Maintenance & Repair history since the previous inspection cycle
• Recommendations 
• Timetables for each repair item
• Photographs of representative conditions
• A site plan indicating inspected areas (and required repair locations)

The QPSI will also design a custom tailored “annual observation checklist” during the structure’s initial condition assessment that will outline specific items that must be inspected annually, or at more frequent intervals if deemed necessary. This and all of the information described above is submitted on the DOBNOW for review and approval, similar to a FISP report.

Annual Inspections & The Annual Observation Checklist

The new law specifies that all parking structures must perform an annual inspection based on the annual observation checklist developed during their initial condition assessment. This inspection must be performed by (or under the supervision of) a QPSI. If unsafe conditions are observed during these inspections, they must be reported to the DOB immediately. Copies of each completed annual observation checklist must be maintained at the parking structure for a minimum of 6 years after they are completed.

 Filing Classifications – SAFE / UNSAFE / SREM

Parking structures can be classified one of three ways for the PIPS program as follows:

• SAFE: No further action required under this classification

• UNSAFE: Conditions designated this way must be addressed within 90 days from the submission of the compliance report with documentation

Note: Once a building has filed an Unsafe Report, owners must either complete required repairs to correct any unsafe conditions within 90 days, or (as with the FISP) submit an extension request to the DOB if that 90-day period is not sufficient. Additional extensions can be requested as needed, until the work is completed. As long as these extensions are submitted, approved, and maintained, the DOB will not assess any fines.

• Safe with Repairs and/or Engineering Monitoring (SREM):  Any condition deemed safe at the time of inspection, but capable of developing into an unsafe condition within the next six years, must be filed as SREM. For each condition classified this way, the QPSI will recommend repairs as well as a specific repair time frame in which they must be completed to avoid deteriorating in. 

Note: Parking structure owners must ensure all SREM conditions are corrected within the specific repair time frame that is recommended. A report must be filed with the applicable two-year filing window. The QPSI must file the report within 60 days of the final inspection date.

As with the FISP, SREM conditions cannot be carried over from one inspection cycle to the next. Any condition reported as SREM that is not corrected by the next cycle inspection will automatically be deemed unsafe.

Filing Windows & Report Submission Deadlines

Inspections and their subsequent reports must be performed and filing within specific “sub-cycles” that span a two-year period within the overall six-year period of the cycle. These sub-cycles have been assigned based on the Borough and Community District that the parking structure resides within. The filing windows for the 1st Cycle are as follows:

Sub-Cycle A:

• Manhattan Community Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
• This includes 59th Street and below, and the Upper West Side to 110th Street
• Reports must be filed between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023

Sub-Cycle B:

• Manhattan Community Districts 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & Brooklyn
• This includes the Upper East Side above 59th Street and all of Upper Manhattan above 110th Street
• This includes all Brooklyn Community Districts
• Reports must be filed between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025

Sub-Cycle C:

• All Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island Community Districts
• Reports must be filed between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027

Filing Fees

The filing fees associated with the PIPs program are paid through the DOBNOW and are as follows:

• Initial Report Filing: $305
• Amended/Subsequent Filings: $85
• Extension Request Applications: $65

Penalties / Failure or Late To File Fees

Penalties and/or fines associated with not adhering to the PIPs program requirements are as follows:

• Late Filing: $1,000 per month past the deadline.
• Failure to File: $5,000 per year past the deadline.
• Failure to Correct Unsafe Conditions: $1,000 per month until unsafe conditions(s) are corrected and an acceptable Amended Report has been filed, or an extension of time to complete the repairs was granted.
• Failure to Correct SREM Conditions: $2,000

Contact Us!

AMR Engineering is prepared for Local Law 126 with experienced personnel and years of experience on similar repair projects. Along with physical surveys and inspections of the parking structures and surrounding areas, AMR is fully equipped to specify repairs if required, generate drawings and bid packages, coordinate the bid process with contractors, and provide the necessary construction monitoring services to ensure repairs are completed properly, on time, and on budget.

If you have a parking garage on your property, please contact us to schedule a meeting and preliminary review of your property and begin the LL126 process. As with the FISP deadlines for filing a report with the city will be enforced and are also being refined as the program gets underway.