A SWARMP designation, short for Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program, is one of three classifications a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI) can assign to a building’s facade under New York City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), the program that enforces Local Law 11. It means the facade was safe at the time of inspection but has conditions that require repair or maintenance to keep it from becoming unsafe before the next five-year cycle. When a QEWI files the report through DOB NOW: Safety, a SWARMP condition must be documented along with the inspector’s projected date for when it will deteriorate into an Unsafe condition if left unaddressed.
A SWARMP designation is not a clean pass. The flagged conditions carry a deadline, and they must be corrected within the timeframe the QEWI specifies, generally before the next inspection cycle. An unrepaired SWARMP condition from the prior cycle automatically defaults to Unsafe when the next sub-cycle closes, which forces the owner to install pedestrian protection such as a sidewalk shed immediately, correct the condition within 90 days of notifying the DOB, and face a penalty for filing as Unsafe a defect that was already on record. The DOB sets that penalty in its fee schedule, commonly $2,000. For a board, then, SWARMP is a budgeting and reserve-planning signal, not a problem to defer to the next cycle.
Carrying SWARMP conditions from your last FISP report and not sure when they tip into Unsafe? MD Squared tracks every flagged condition and its repair deadline, coordinates the QEWI and restoration contractors, and keeps the work on a schedule that protects your reserves. It is built into our Local Law 11 project services. Talk to our team today and clear your SWARMP conditions before they escalate.
