The Archdiocese of New York is facing a fine from the city for failing to put protective measures in place and safeguard the public from a building facade that was flagged as dangerous. According to a report in The Union Journal, the Archdiocese of New York owns this hotel – The Lotte New York Palace on Madison Avenue.
Dangerous Conditions
An engineering report in March 2019 found loose safety railings, broken roof tiles and unsafe 
chimneys and the Archdiocese was subsequently fined $10,000 for failing to protect public safety and a further $3,750 for failing to maintain the hotel’s exterior. The Lotte New York Palace is not the only building in New York to have received fines for this.
There are close to 300 buildings citywide that have violated regulations for protecting the public from crumbling facades or building collapses. The hotel’s manager has said that all violation reports have been resolved and that the hotel is filing for permits for a sidewalk shed to protect passersby from the loose façade.
What City Laws Say
All buildings higher than six stories are required by local law to have a facade inspection every five years. The law was passed after an incident where falling debris fatally injured a student from Barnard College 40 years ago. This is one of the reasons that a number of sidewalk sheds can be seen around the city. A third of all permits for sidewalk sheds can be attributed to the facade law.
Although a variety of buildings are affected by New York City’s Local Law 11, hotels rank high as many of them reach the height that requires regular inspections. The need for better enforcement of the law was highlighted when a woman was killed by a piece of terracotta falling from a building near Times Square earlier this year. Following this tragedy, the Department of Buildings announced the inspection of 1,331 buildings that had been deemed unsafe during their routine five-year inspections.
Dangerous Facades and Liability Issues
It’s unclear whether facade inspections are happening at this time as the city battles the COVID-19 crisis. However, it is still a fact that building owners and managers can be held liable for any injuries caused to pedestrians, workers or passersby due to loose or falling debris from facades that have not been adequately repaired. We have seen repeatedly in this city that dangerous facades have the potential to cause catastrophic if not fatal injuries.
Earlier this year, two women were killed after they were hit by pieces of building facades that fell on them and several others victims have been injured. Pedestrians who are struck in this manner face the risk of major injuries such as head trauma, spinal cord damage, broken bones and internal organ damage.
Construction companies, managing agents, building owners, some contractors and sub-contractors may have a responsibility to ensure that scaffolds and other structures at a construction site are properly secured so they don’t pose a danger to workers, visitors or pedestrians at or near the worksite. If you have been injured as the result of poorly-maintained or poorly-protected facades, please understand that you have legal rights, and that landlords (building owners) and other parties have responsibilities.
In such cases, injured bystanders or passersby can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injury, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families of deceased victims may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation for damages such as lost future income, funeral costs, medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc. Liable parties may include construction companies, general contractors, sub-contractors, property and building owners/managers, manufacturers of defective products, etc.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Whether you are a worker who has suffered injuries at a construction site or a bystander or pedestrian who has been injured by falling debris, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job – one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
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Source: https://theunionjournal.com/archdiocese-of-new-york-fined-amidst-concerns-over-public-safety-outside-the-lotte-new-york-palace/