State officials seek inspections of coastal buildings

Saying they were horrified by the collapse of a condominium building in Surfside, Fla., two weeks ago, and anxious to make sure it did not happen in Long Beach or other coastal areas of New York, city and state officials Tuesday urged the state to see that structural inspections are conducted annually.

Currently, such inspections are not undertaken on any regular basis on Long Beach’s 43 residential buildings, which include co-ops, condos and rentals, city officials said.

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who lives in Long Beach, called a news conference at the boardwalk and Neptune Boulevard to announced that he, city officials and two other fellow Democratic state senators — Diane Savino, of Staten Island, and Roxanne Persaud, of Brooklyn — had written to the members of New York state’s Code Development Unit, which is overseen by the Department of State.

The letter read, in part, that the senators appreciated the unit’s efforts to improve safety, but added, “However, the terrible tragedy in Miami-Dade County requires further efforts to ensure that a similar event does not occur here.”

The senators said that while “there is no reason for immediate alarm,” they had been hearing “from worried constituents who wonder about the structural integrity of their buildings” here.

“Therefore, we are requesting that you consider mandating annual inspections of certain older buildings.”

The senators are seeking to require building owners to undertake structural inspections and report any problems to the state.

Kaminsky, who last week announced that he was a candidate for the Nassau County district attorney’s race this fall, agreed that, unfortunately, the city and state don’t know what they don’t know. That, he said, could lead to a tragedy similar to the one in Florida.

The three senators asked that the Long Beach City Council propose a process for older buildings to recertify by conducting annual structural-integrity inspections. And they asked the council to reassess its standards for construction in high risk coastal areas, where buildings must not only stand up to storms, but must also weather decades of exposure to corrosive salt air.

“Such environmental conditions are only likely to get worse with climate change as we continue to see more damaging rain and winds from hurricanes as well as rising sea levels,” the senators wrote in the letter.

The Code Development Unit comprises 17 members appointed by the governor. It is empowered to maintain and update the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the State Energy Conservation Code. It may adopt “higher and more restrictive local standards upon the recommendation of local governments,” according to state law.

In an email to the Herald Tuesday night, the Department of State’s Division of Building Standards and Codes, in conjunction with the Code Development Unit, wrote that it was “closely monitoring the national tragedy that occurred in Miami.” The Department also said it was reviewing the letter from Kaminsky, Savino and Persaud and would “carefully review the final investigative report regarding the building collapse in Miami to examine whether any changes may be warranted in New York State to prevent a similar tragedy from happening here, and to help keep New Yorkers safe.”

Long Beach Building Commissioner Scott Kemins said the city does conduct fire inspections of buildings. But he and others at the news conference said that structural inspections would be a necessity after the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside.

Jordan Ruzz, an engineering consultant who has helped restore buildings in Long Beach since 1990, said, “In the 30 years I have been here, I have seen a handful of frightening things” — all discovered by accident. He mentioned structural problems at 250 Shore Road and the Lido Towers in Lido Beach, but added that repairs had been made to both buildings.

“We need to be a little more proactive,” Kemins said.

City Council President John Bendo, an engineer, said the matter came down to a simple issue: “Would you want to get onto an airplane that had not been inspected?” he said. “It’s a common-sense measure to inspect.”