If your engineer's facade report came back with conditions to correct, we are the crew that corrects them — parapets, lintels, cornices, spalling brick and failed joints — and documents the work for your filing.
Where we fit in the FISP process
Under NYC Local Law 11 — the Facade Inspection Safety Program — buildings over six storeys must have their exterior walls inspected on a recurring cycle and the report filed with the Department of Buildings. That inspection and that filing are done by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector: a licensed professional engineer or registered architect. We are not that inspector, and any contractor who tells you they will "file your Local Law 11" is describing something they cannot legally do.
What we do is the construction half. Your QEWI produces a report that classifies each condition as Safe, SWARMP, or Unsafe. We price and perform the repairs that report calls for, work alongside your engineer while they sign off, and hand you photo documentation of everything that was opened up and closed back in.
Landmarked buildings and historic districts
A large share of New York's older housing stock sits inside a designated historic district, and much of our work is in them. On a landmarked elevation you are not choosing the cheapest fix — you are matching what is already there. Mortar matched in colour and strength, stone matched in type and finish, profiles rebuilt to the original rather than simplified because it is quicker.
Work affecting the exterior of a landmarked building generally requires Landmarks Preservation Commission approval before it begins. We are the contractor, not your filing representative — your architect or expediter obtains the permit — but we build the approval time into the schedule rather than discovering it on week one, and we work to the approved scope.
Working with boards and managing agents
We are used to the reporting a board actually needs: a scope that maps line by line to the engineer's conditions, a schedule that accounts for shed permits and rental time, and progress photographs you can put in front of shareholders. Unsafe conditions run on a clock — we schedule those first and protect the public way immediately.
Our work
Facade Restoration & Local Law 11 Repairs in the field
FAQ
Questions about facade restoration and local law 11 repairs
Can you file my Local Law 11 report?
No — and neither can any other contractor. FISP inspection and filing must be performed by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector, meaning a NYS-licensed professional engineer or registered architect. We perform the repair work identified in that report and coordinate with your QEWI. If you do not have an engineer yet, we can point you toward firms we have worked with.
What is the difference between Unsafe and SWARMP?
Unsafe means a condition poses a threat to the public now: it requires immediate protection, prompt repair, and a follow-up amendment. SWARMP — Safe With A Repair And Maintenance Program — means a condition is stable today but will become unsafe if it is not corrected before the next cycle. Leaving a SWARMP item to fester is what turns a manageable repair into an emergency.
Can you work on a landmarked building?
Yes. Much of our work is inside designated historic districts, where the standard is repair in kind — matched mortar, matched stone, original profiles. Exterior work on a landmarked building normally needs Landmarks Preservation Commission approval first; that is filed by your architect or expediter, and we work to the approved scope and allow for it in the programme.
Do you handle the sidewalk shed?
We coordinate it. Sheds, pipe scaffold and the associated DOB permits are a real line item on facade work, and shed rental is charged monthly — so the single biggest cost control on a facade job is not dragging the schedule out. We build that into the estimate rather than leaving it as a surprise.
