A professional engineer won't be allowed to conduct facade inspections in the city for two years because of his alleged negligence in the case of a Bronx building that partially collapsed late last year, forcing 170 people from their homes and wreaking havoc on city traffic, Mayor Eric Adams' office announced Thursday.
He also must pay a $10,000 fine.
Investigations into the December 2023 collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights are ongoing by the Department of Buildings, Department of Investigation and Bronx district attorney's office. Further enforcement actions against engineer Richard Koenigsberg are possible depending on the outcome of those probes, Adams said.
No one was seriously hurt in the collapse of the seven-story residential building, which left apartments exposed and walls sheared off as firefighters searched a heaping pile of debris for potential trapped victims. There were none.
There were, however, warning signs, News 4 previously reported.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Specifically, on the morning of Nov. 3, the Department of Buildings inspector raised concerns about mudsills, the wooden or metal platforms that sit under scaffolding columns and distribute weight. There were also concerns about potentially unsafe facade conditions in an earlier report, including issues with cracked bricks.
Local
Prior to the collapse, Koenigsberg was acting in the capacity of a professional engineer — contracted by the building owners for required facade inspections and subsequent repairs — where he misdiagnosed a load-bearing column at the northeast corner of the building as non-structural in his engineering drawings, Adams' office said the investigation found. Following the collapse, DOB issued a full vacate order for the entire building in the interest of public safety.
Since that time, extensive structural inspections of the building and major repairs performed by the property owners have allowed many of the families to safely move back into the building.
The agreement Koenigsberg reached with the city is voluntary and legally binding. He will be allowed to complete any activate jobs where he was previously contracted over the next four months before his suspension takes effect. Reports for jobs already underway must undergo peer review approval by a third-party engineering firm. Jobs Koenigsberg has already completed won't need to undergo peer reviews, but are expected to face extra scrutiny.
The settlement is in lieu of a formal disciplinary hearing. The name of Koenigsberg's attorney wasn't immediately known.
"Public safety is our administration’s top priority, and the signing of today’s agreement should serve as a reminder to all construction professionals about the importance of carrying out their duties professionally, competently, and, most importantly, safely," Adams said in a statement announcing the settlement. "I would like to thank Commissioner Oddo and his team at DOB for their quick and tireless work to hold Mr. Koenigsberg accountable following this incredibly dangerous collapse, and for helping to get the displaced families back into their homes safely."
