Officials said the inspector had “misdiagnosed” as a “decorative” element a column that was holding up the seven-story building.
An engineer who oversaw inspections of a Bronx apartment building that partially collapsed on Monday “misdiagnosed” a column that was holding up the building, calling it a “decorative” element in plans he filed in June, city officials said Friday.
Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s buildings commissioner, James Oddo, said the city had suspended the engineer’s authority to inspect building facades and would seek to permanently revoke that authority.
Nobody was killed or seriously injured in the collapse. But it left more than 170 residents of the building, at 1915 Billingsley Terrace, with no place to live. In addition to the Buildings Department, officials said, the Bronx district attorney’s office and the city’s Department of Investigation are investigating what caused the collapse.
Why does a building inspector even have the ability to define a column as decorative or not? Surely thats already in the initial building plans? Shouldn’t the inspector be working off existing plans rather than being able to declare any structural element as decorative?
Not sure how correct this is, but as an engineer, their word may be trusted enough for higher level decision makers not to have to go back to the materials the engineer should have seen. The engineer must not have done their due diligence or just come to the wrong conclusions.
If you’re suggesting that there be more double-checking and verification, then I totally agree.
an engineer, their word may be trusted enough
That’s what happens here. This person was a Professional Engineer, a kind of certified engineer. Their job is to determine if stuff is safe for use.
Things like roads, bridges, pressure vessels, and apartment buildings all have a Professional Engineer (PE) look over their designs at some point. Their job is to use their expertise to determine if the thing can do it’s job safely.
Existing structures are also periodically inspected by PEs. Like the above person, they determine if the thing can continue to do its job safely.
Unlike other engineers (in the USA), PEs have to attain a certification. You need to take an exam and maintain a license. It takes a lot of time and effort to obtain these things.
Shouldn’t the inspector be working off existing plans rather than being able to declare any structural element as decorative?
As someone else mentioned, the building is old enough that the initial plans likely no longer exist.
It’s the job of the PE to make judgment calls like “is this column structural or decorative”. This person fucked that up. Losing their license and ability to practice would be a fitting punishment.
When PEs fuck up, lots of people can die.
Just a note: it isn’t enough to just pass a test, you have to use the olds boy network to even sit for it. Then everyone pretends it is some great mystery why there is a lack of diversity.
The building is almost a century old. I am unaware if the plans would still be available.
Do you know if they are?
Are places not digitizing blueprints? Like as soon as scanners and computers became a thing that should’ve been the first thing they started doing. That just seems like common sense
Depends on how old the building is. Does it sound like common sense? Yes.but there’s the reality of how long it takes to digitize plans and also to check are said plans accurate and do they still exist?
Most likely they are. I have done drafting to bridges where the plans were over 100 years old. Those things are around for a loong tine
Bridges are public sector.
it suggests a cover-up for some reason… the inspector noticed damage to the critical element, but chose to label it as decorative so that maintenance wasn’t required… perhaps the building owner got involved…
Given what I have seen dealing with PEs I am surprised this doesn’t happen all the time. Maybe two in my life I have dealt with that can do more than have a meeting about nothing or put something in a spreadsheet that was put together by an intern 8 years ago.
Shout-out to the outstanding minds at Jacobs, Parsons, and Koch. Defrauding the taxpayer and looking well dressed.
