Parking Structure & Industry Insights

In case you missed it, New York City has changed the way parking structures are being managed with revisions to New York City Department of Building laws (Construction Codes §28-323 and Rules of City of New York (RCNY) §103-13).  

New laws are being enacted that focus on enforcing parking structure inspections and condition assessments by qualified engineering professionals. These new laws are intended to provide an “ounce of prevention” and offer parking structure owners, occupiers, investors, and the local community a “pound of cure” to reduce potential garage collapses.

To achieve compliance, New York City parking structure owners and/or owners’ reps must hire a New York City Qualified Parking Inspector, or QPSI, to perform a condition assessment report with the New York City Department of Buildings every six years.

Launched on January 1, 2022, owners of parking structures must now hire a New York State licensed and registered professional engineer (Qualified Parking Structure Inspector)

In the second of two posts in this series, we get to know Steven more personally in a more casual Q&A type post.

Steven is a Senior Field Engineer for StructureCare in the Northeast Territory. Based in Queens, Steven has a background in forensic structural engineering.

In an effort to keep buildings, local communities and parking structure end-users safe, parking garage owners and owner’s representatives must now complete a certified structural inspection for any parking garage located within the five boroughs of New York City.

Parking structure owners and/or owner’s representatives (property managers, facility managers, occupiers) must now complete a structural inspection for any parking garage located within the five boroughs of New York City.

Like many governing bodies and municipalities, City officials considered these changes in light of recent concrete garage and building structure collapses that have been responsible for both casualties and significant property damage.

Every parking structure should have a waterproofing system in place. But your structure’s needs will vary depending on how it was originally constructed and how it’s been maintained over the years.

Every garage, no matter how it’s built, is susceptible to deterioration. But the type, location and extent of this deterioration can vary greatly, depending on how the garage was constructed. It’s important to understand the design differences between precast concrete and cast-in-place garages — as well as how these differences affect the potential for damage — so you can develop a maintenance approach that best serves your structure.

A parking garage is subject to stress from the first day concrete is poured and the structure is erected. Without proper maintenance, deterioration can reduce the structure’s service life by up to one-third — and result in unplanned downtime, exposure to increased risk, unexpected maintenance and increased costs.

From snow to ice to wind, parking structures are subject to the worst conditions winter offers. As we move into warmer weather, now is the time to assess the winter damage your parking structure may have endured during the colder months so you can prioritize necessary maintenance and repairs.

Complex concrete restorations often require engineered solutions that are carried out by expert teams working in close collaboration. Learn how StructureCare developed and implemented a challenging restoration project to combat hazards that threatened the structural health of a busy hospital’s parking garage.

There are many factors that may make your building’s maintenance needs different from those of the parking garage just down the street. But all garages require some level of upkeep to ensure they’re safe, functional and able to be maintained cost-effectively.

Every environment. Every season. Every day. Your parking structure is constantly exposed to harsh conditions that impact its structural health. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to protect your investment with a strategic maintenance approach.

Generally speaking, parking structure repair becomes top-of-mind for parking structure owners and parking management companies when there’s a problem — or worse, when they’re informed of a problem by someone else.

You notice a problem in your garage. Maybe a crack has formed in a concrete pillar. Maybe a patron complained about staining on their car. Or maybe you’ve noticed that your parking structure leaks after a heavy rain.

Weather resiliency, or the ability of a structure to withstand weather events, has become increasingly important as weather patterns change and become more severe.