NYC buildings agency inspects 180 sites, no imminent hazards

Last month’s structural near-disaster at the former Pfizer headquarters being converted to apartments set off a sweeping inspection of construction sites across New York City.

Inspectors checked at 180 sites in all, according to the Department of Buildings.

Inspectors found violations, but “we did not find any hazardous structural issues posing an imminent danger to public safety,” DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said in a social media post.

The findings could help dull the glare of national concern over office-to-residential conversions after last month’s column-buckling mishap at MetroLoft‘s 1,600-unit Manhattan project. The incident, which added floors to the 1970s Pfizer building, renewed debate over the complex challenges of converting offices into housing.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has staked part of his housing strategy on office-to-residential conversions, betting they can add units faster than ground-up construction. More than 40 additional conversion projects are underway or planned citywide, according to Department of City Planning data cited by the building agency. Together, they would add more than 14,000 apartments and condos.

Inspectors reported finding no systemic red flags. The sweep gives Mamdani’s administration a clean bill of health, taking pressure off the broader conversion pipeline.

Absent a citywide pattern of danger, the political and regulatory spotlight on conversions may likely fade, not intensify.

Finding violations

In the sweep, city inspectors targeted firms tied to the project. That list included steel fabricator Barone Steel Fabricators, inspection firm Domani Inspection Services and demolition subcontractor Northeast Specialist Group.

Inspectors logged 65 violations across 38 sites, resulting in 18 partial stop-work orders and one full halt at a Williamsburg apartment building.

What caused the columns to buckle remains unknown. DOB spokesman Andrew Rudansky told Gothamist that the investigation remains open. He said the agency plans another round of sweeps targeting additional firms.

The findings arrive as two other high-profile Manhattan conversions remain under active stop-work orders from an earlier enforcement push. GFP Real Estate‘s 222 Broadway, a 1962 tower being converted into roughly 300 apartments, is on its third stop-work order. Cracked concrete beams on the 32nd floor went unreported for weeks.

Its engineering firm submitted repair documentation last week, but DOB’s review is ongoing.

SL Green‘s 750 Third Avenue drew a partial stop-work order after inspectors found steel welding inconsistent with filed plans. The developer says it self-identified the issue.