After years of scandal, City Hall is finally implementing more transparency. But DBI’s belated efforts raise questions about who’s watching the guards.
This is one of dozens of cases cited in the Controller’s report released Thursday. It shows a powerful builder skirting rules that ordinary builders are expected to follow.
Building Permits
Department of Building Inspection (DBI) staff ensure that construction, demolition and building alterations comply with structural, fire, plumbing, electrical, Title 24 energy and ADA requirements. They also serve as expert investigators in emergencies, including earthquakes and fires. For more information about DBI building inspection, click here.
Unfortunately, the current system is ineffective, and the public has suffered from corruption at senior levels of the department. Currently, DBI is working on reforms to improve transparency and eliminate corrupt practices.
One such change is an instant plan review process that would be available to projects under construction with time-critical issues requiring DBI review. This fee-based process would supplement the standard DBI processing and allow a project to progress while DBI reviews the revised plans. This could eliminate the need for private expeditors who currently have to wait until DBI can get to the site and make an evaluation. SPUR and Supervisor Aaron Peskin endorse this proposal.
Electrical Permits
In addition to building permits, DBI issues electrical licenses needed to install life safety systems such as sprinklers and standpipes. Work performed under this supplement must be fabricated and installed by a licensed electrical contractor. For more information about DBI building inspection, click here.
In a move that stunned Supervisor Aaron Peskin and confounded observers inside and outside the department, interim Director Patrick O’Riordan denied this problem on Monday. This rebuffed an obvious point raised in the Controller’s report on Thursday and clashed with O’Riordan’s reform agenda.
O’Riordan is trying to get the department on a solid track in these plague times and is focusing on reforms that will increase training, oversight, and transparency. He’s also pushed through new digital services and an over-the-counter queue system that will save customers hours. But the department’s misdeeds have done a lot of damage in the past, hampering its ability to move things along during the pandemic.
Mechanical Permits
All mechanical work (excluding service equipment) requires a separate permit. Please contact the appropriate inspection office for more information.
Rough-in inspections are required after all building framing is inspected and after the fire protection, plumbing and heating/ventilation/cooling systems that will be hidden from view have been reviewed. Insulation must also be installed, and the vapour retarders must be in place at this stage unless the permit holder has requested a special courtesy inspection for shower pans at another phase.
According to the Controller’s report, PTS is so malleable that managers, senior inspectors and mere clerks have recollected altering inspection records in the system—even after they were deemed complete. Dates, comments and even the names of inspectors have been changed. Documents related to the 555 Fulton project simply disappeared from the system before reappearing. This is a clear sign of the need for reforms.
Plumbing Permits
Whether you’re remodelling, adding appliances, or replacing old fixtures, getting the work inspected is essential. You can schedule a building, electrical, or plumbing inspection through DOB NOW: Inspections. For more information about DBI building inspection, click here.
Building Inspectors ensure that buildings comply with City and State codes and regulations to maintain safe, habitable living conditions. This is accomplished through professional plan checks, building inspections and investigating substandard structures.
A former carpenter and general contractor, O’Riordan joined DBI in 2000 as a field inspector. He worked up to chief inspector, overseeing the roughly 5,000 building inspections DBI performs monthly. In May 2021, O’Riordan introduced a comprehensive reform package to address past public integrity issues and improve department training, oversight and transparency.
The DBI Building Inspection Process
DBI handles the City’s enforcement of building, housing, plumbing, electrical and disability access codes. The department also inspects construction, alterations, additions and repairs of existing buildings, houses and apartments.
It’s a tremendous job, and the office of the controller recently released a report tossing around terms like “nepotism,” ”cronyism,” and ”corruption.”