LITTLE ITALY, Manhattan (PIX11) — Along Mulberry and Grand streets, neighbors have a lot to talk about. Little Italy is a neighborhood with a lot of character.
Last week, a chimney structure collapsed inside a residential building under construction on that corner.
The city says the owner must submit a repair and stabilization plan or it will have to be demolished. A partial business suspension order and evacuation order were issued.
On this block, John DeLutro owns Café Mulberry and is known as the Cannoli King.
Lou Di Palo’s family owned a grocery and cheese store nearby. They want the character of the area to be preserved.
Messages left with the current owner’s contact were not returned. The city is in contact with the owner, who has owned the 100-year-old property for decades.
City building inspectors completed 373,937 property inspections in 2023, according to a city report. This is approximately 20,000 more tests than the previous year.
The department said in a statement to PIX11 News that it is increasingly relying on technology to improve routing operations.
“Enforcing building safety regulations is one of our top priorities here at the Department of Buildings, which is why we continue to expand both our inspection operations and protocols. We have also introduced two new inspection requirements for property owners. These important new inspection requirements are important for property owners to help identify potential structural stability issues in their buildings before an accident occurs. It helps,” the spokesperson said.
Periodic Parking Structure Inspections will go into effect in early 2022, requiring all parking garages in New York City to be inspected by a professional engineer every six years.
The city said the initial deadline for parking engineering reports for Lower Manhattan, Midtown and the Upper West Side is Jan. 1. Parking lots in other areas must submit initial findings by August.
The annual parapet observation requirement goes into effect on January 1 and requires building owners with parapet walls on public-facing buildings to annually hire “competent personnel to prepare an annual parapet observation report.” It is mandatory to do so.
The report must be kept by the property owner for at least six years and provided to the City upon request. Any hazard or hazardous condition must be reported immediately.