New York City Council holds hearing on façade inspections

NEW YORK - Leaders of the New York City Department of Buildings testified before the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Building on Monday in the aftermath of two recent deadly accidents where falling debris off building façades killed two pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. 

Calling the Department of Building’s current inspection system archaic, some city council members are calling on the DOB to begin using drones to inspect buildings.

"I think it could be a huge game-changer," said City Council Member Ben Kallos. 

However, the Department of Buildings is standing by what it calls its “tried and true” inspection system.

During the hearing, DOB Commissioner Melanie La Rocca said that there are currently almost 600 buildings in the city that are considered unsafe, and that the owners have a repair and maintenance plan.