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Q&A
Update on the Vulnerable Buildings Action Plan
1:31:56
ยท
124 sec
Council Member Hanks inquires about the status of the Vulnerable Buildings Action Plan announced by Mayor Adams in April 2023. Chair Carroll confirms that the plan is still active and outlines its main components and achievements.
- The plan focuses on early detection, expanded engineering oversight, and community outreach
- LPC works closely with the Department of Buildings, sharing data and conducting joint site visits
- Enhanced engineering oversight is implemented for applications involving potential structural risks
- Only about 0.1% (around 30) of the 38,000 landmark buildings and sites are on LPC's watch list
- LPC has increased staff to monitor these sites, work with property owners, and initiate lawsuits if necessary
Kamillah Hanks
1:31:56
So vulnerable buildings action plan was announced by mayor Adams in April of twenty twenty three to protect landmark buildings with structural risks and included early detection of risks and more robust engineering oversight, increased coordination, and communication between LPC and DOB, and enhanced community tools.
1:32:15
Is the vulnerable buildings action plan still active?
Sarah Carroll
1:32:18
It is still active, and we're very proud of it.
1:32:21
It really focused sort of on three areas.
1:32:23
One is early detection, and that involves a lot of communication and coordination with the Department of Buildings who is sharing a considerable amount of data with us, and we are doing site visits together.
1:32:37
It also included expanded oversight, engineering oversight, and so we have put that into place and we have applications that involve excavation or other work that we think be might have the potential to compromise the building or adjacent buildings.
1:32:56
We do enhanced engineering with an engineer that's retained by LPC and in coordination with the Department of Buildings Engineering.
1:33:04
And then of course on the outreach front, we have been we work with community groups, but we also have been doing educational programs for engineers and architects.
Kamillah Hanks
1:33:13
Oh that's awesome.
1:33:14
How many buildings were determined to be by DOB to be vulnerable that fall into that?
Sarah Carroll
1:33:21
Yeah.
1:33:21
And it's not actually the DOB determination.
1:33:24
They have different kinds of violations than we do, but it is like one tenth of a percent of the 38,000 buildings and sites.
1:33:33
It is a very small number.
1:33:35
I'll take that.
1:33:37
Most landmark owners are very good stewards of their buildings and maintain them, but there is a very small percentage, about, you know, 30 that we have on our watch list that we are continuously working on, and we've increased our staff, also part of the vulnerable buildings action plan, to be able to monitor these sites, work with property owners, and initiate lawsuits if necessary.