Council passes bills to fortify parking garage safety

Just over a year after a parking garage across from City Hall collapsed, killing the garage manager, the New York City Council passed a package of legislation aimed at fortifying garages across the city against negligent care and structural risks. 

One bill sponsored by Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers will require the city Department of Building to conduct a study of the structural state of a sample of garages across the city, beyond the regular inspections they already receive. The bill will help determine a baseline for how widespread structural issues are, Brooks-Powers said.

Another bill, sponsored by Council Member Crystal Hudson, will actually make those regular inspections more frequent, going from once every six years to once every four years.

And a third bill, sponsored by Council Member Amanda Farías, would increase penalties for violations issued to owners of parking garages. 

“It’s the government's responsibility to guarantee the integrity of the infrastructure that shapes our communities, and that certainly includes parking structures,” Hudson said at a press conference.