How One Missed Detail Nearly Derailed a Filing Deadline

Garage inspections sound like unremarkable, until a single overlooked detail turns a routine repair into a race against a filing deadline. In this episode, Charles Phillips, senior project manager at Merritt Engineering, takes us inside a Brooklyn co-op's compliance scramble, where solid structural conditions weren't the problem — details were. Phillips unpacks how communication can break down between a board, its management company, and the engineers doing the work, and what it actually takes to course-correct before penalties kick in. He also shares the physical red flags anyone parking in a building's garage should recognize, plus everyday maintenance choices that quietly extend a structure's life or shorten it. Habitat's Emily Myers conducts the interview. 

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Emily Myers: Welcome to Problem Solved, a conversation about challenges facing New York City's co-op and condo board directors.

I'm Emily Myers with Habitat Magazine, and I'm joined by Charles Phillips, senior project manager at Merritt Engineering Consultants. Charles, thanks so much for being here. Well, most boards know there are now garage inspection requirements for buildings. What's less well known is the amount of coordination it requires with engineers, contractors, insurance certificates, board approvals, and then of course the filing deadlines.

So in this episode, we're gonna look at a Brooklyn co-op that nearly fell off schedule. The repairs weren't particularly complex, but the compliance process turned out to be. Charles, can you perhaps set the scene for us? When you started working for this co-op, what were the conditions in the garage? 

Charles Phillips: No, thankfully the conditions weren't bad, and that's the good part, right?

I mean, if you have a, a garage where there aren't a lot of deficiencies, it's enclosed, it's not exposed to ending environments, you're usually in pretty good condition for the most part. So the repairs are very sacrificial in a way. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So there wasn't anything structurally dangerous, or this was mostly sort of routine maintenance?

So what kind of, uh, structure- Is, is it? 

Charles Phillips: Yeah. So for in this particular case, it's a co-op building, so you have the residential units above, and then, and the garage is below the, on the ground level. And again, it's an enclosed garage. So the structure of it is concrete, steel, and then slab on grade. So there's no basement below that garage area, which is great because that has less issues with no space below.

Emily Myers: Yeah. So slab on grade is, is, is concrete slab poured directly onto ground level. Is that right? 

Charles Phillips: Correct. Correct. Because now if you have a space below that garage, that's a wh- that creates a whole nother process and m- maybe possible other issues as well. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So at what point did the filing of this report become complicated?

Charles Phillips: Yeah. The, the f- the filing became complicated because unfortunately what occurred is, is that we had everything lined up, contractor's award agreed, the client agreed to everything, and then somehow it was overlooked where the insurance from the contractor was not accepted by the board. I'm not sure how they missed that.

Maybe the management company that is helping the co-op didn't see that, and I'm thinking that's possibly what it was. Because in this case, we don't always have direct contact with the co-op and all board members are not always present. So in this case, we're kind of working through a middle person relaying the message.

And so sometimes things may be lost through translation, and I think that's what occurred. So unfortunately, the insurance was not accepted by the co-op board from the contractor, and we had to rebid it. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So having the right insurance coverage is, of course, very important. Boards have a fiduciary duty.

Uh, and waiving insurance requirements, you know, without careful review is, has risks, even potentially exposing directors to claims of negligence if there's a loss. So it was probably the right decision. Yes. But what, what was the result there? You had to... It presumably put some delay. 

Charles Phillips: Yeah. So now we have to rebid it, and so we go back to the vendors that we utilized in the beginning.

So we're not starting completely from scratch, so at least we have some numbers in place to where we initially set that up. And so typically, when you're doing a competitive bidding, you have maybe four to five Uh, vendors or contractors that are going up for the bid, um, and obviously one is selected. So we're going to the next person in line or that the co-op would have selected at that point.

But yet, you know, you still have to supply the insurance, you still have to go through the process, and at that point we were getting very, very close to the filing date. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So what risk is there then? You know, you miss the filing date, you're in violation. 

Charles Phillips: The, the risk is money. No one wants to pay for fees, right?

That's, that's the thing. We wanna avoid that. And so understanding that, here's the, here's the, here's the caveat. You still can file the report, and in this case, because the, the deficiencies themselves were sacrificial and nothing was unsafe, you can still file the report and have it amended later. So at least you're still filing the report when it's required, and you know upfront that because the r- the repairs themselves aren't necessarily something that's unsafe and needs to be immediate You file the report, you amend it, and that way you avoid any kind of fees.

Emily Myers: Okay. So the amended report, what does that mean in practical terms? It means that you have everything in place, so you're ready to go, but you just haven't done the work yet. Is that right? 

Charles Phillips: Exactly. Yep. Yep. Because the work itself has to be done within a two-year cycle. So you're doing the report to say, "Hey, things are okay.

We're still gonna monitor it," right? We're still gonna make sure that nothing's gonna hurt anyone, nothing's gonna happen in that sort of a way, and we know that it won't because, again, we've already done that initial inspection. We've already done that process. So we were gonna fix the repairs or th- whatever needs to get done.

We were in that process. It's just that report, putting in the date when it's required so it doesn't overlap into the next cycle, right? Because this is a six-year cycle. Each cycle in subpart A, B, C, you have two years, two years, and two years. So we were in that middle cycle, the B cycle, and we didn't wanna go over into the C cycle.

So knowing that, it's like, okay, well, let's at least get the report in. If we get the report in, that's just gonna say, "Hey, we're done. There's nothing unsafe." That way we don't have to pay any penalties. We're good. If we didn't do the report, then you're gonna have penalties, no matter what. You will because now you've gone over into the next cycle.

So the amendment part is just to say, "Hey, you're basically gonna get the repairs done within that two year, that two-year period." That's basically what the amended report is saying. You will repair it for sure. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So was the report with the amendment always an option, or did you have to make that decision quite quickly?

Charles Phillips: It's always an option, but obviously you don't wanna overlap and go into that because it creates another hurdle, right? And so it's something that we try to not do and go into that process. This is the last resort, right? Think of it this way. Things happen, you know. We can't control every situation. Some things are overlooked, but at least we know and we understand how to help the client in this case so that they don't have to occur any penalties, and that's really the most important part there.

Emily Myers: Okay. And was it only an option to do it this way because the conditions were not unsafe? I mean, if, if the conditions had been unsafe instead of routine, would that have been possible? 

Charles Phillips: No. You always have to do a r- report no matter what. So unless you could have somehow got the contractor to get the work done before that overlap, then sure, then you don't have to worry about it at all.

But in this case, because they were still accepting the insurance, checking the insurance process, we only had a month. There was no way the work itself could get done when it was required. 

Emily Myers: Yeah. Okay. Um, and so going back to the, to the initial delay, is it fairly common for perhaps insurance doc- documentation to derail a project like this?

Or was that just a sort of, uh, a sort of a moment of oversight? I mean, how, how do boards prevent that happening? 

Charles Phillips: Yeah. I think it may have been a moment of oversight unfortunately, and it's really up to them. There are some board members in terms of co-ops where they are more involved with the management company of the building, and so they'll have a person to kind of liaise on that process as well, where they would be tabbed on to the emails process and they would see everything up front.

In this particular case, unfortunately we didn't have any board members within the email process, so maybe they didn't see it earlier on where they would've been able to see, hey, this insurance is not up to our standards. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So it sounds like having the management company in the middle is probably quite helpful, but it can sometimes perhaps affect the speed of decision-making or your ability to communicate that there's a, perhaps a little urgency to it.

Charles Phillips: Absolutely, and I would always recommend if someone is a little bit more comfortable with the process in dealing with that, that we wanna try and have that open communication and conversation with them so that nothing like this would occur. Um, like I said, unfortunately because that management company is the middle person in this c- in this case, some things can kind of slip through the cracks.

Yeah. No pun intended. 

Emily Myers: Yeah. In your line of work. Okay. Do you... So but do you think the board perhaps understood how close they were to the late filing? Or it sounds like you had a, you had a plan even y- you know, with this am- the, the amendment. 

Charles Phillips: Yeah. They, I think they were aware of it, and that's the main thing that me, myself, or Merritt understanding that, hey, here are all of our possibilities.

Knowing that up front and having that if possible, that is the last resort. You d- obviously you never wanna go there, but every situation can't be controlled. So again, the main thing is how do we still get the client's work done, how do we help the client to make sure that they don't have any penalties and you're all compliant by code?

Emily Myers: Okay. So the co-op filed the report. Ultimately, I'm assuming this means they avoid penalties. Okay. So at this point, what still needs to happen? The actual work? 

Charles Phillips: Yep. The, the work needs to happen. So now the work needs to happen, um, and we are scheduled for April of this year. And again, the work itself just needs to be done within that period.

You know, once we get the repairs done, we would do re-go back and do the final report, just to show that it's, well, not brand new, but it's shiny and new in the, in the regard of the repairs that needed to be done. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So you're confident this building is now back on track? 

Charles Phillips: Yeah, absolutely. The building's de- it's definitely back on track.

Contracts are in place. Um, insurance are reviewed, so we are, we're definitely up and ready to go in April. Okay. And thankfully this garage is, is underground, so it would've had no issues with the weather that we've had recently here in New York City, so. Oh 

Emily Myers: my goodness. Yes, because I know that, you know, the, the salt and the snow, it, it can really accelerate a deterioration.

Charles Phillips: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, there's another, uh, pit stop that I'm dealing with for the, for the garage, and the owner literally never uses salt on his ... and because it's outside, and he only uses sand, and he does not allow any heavy equipment on the roof just because he doesn't want the concrete to deteriorate.

So that's also something that co-ops or individuals should be aware of that your concrete, take care of it as, as best as possible. You know, if, because we live in a climate where it's, there's inclement weather, and of course we've had a lot of snow recently, right? Where you're not using heavy equipment.

When I say heavy equipment, I mean trucks coming onto that, that moves the concrete, that could crack it, that could break it. Try to use salts or non-abrasive types of salts that don't have chemicals in it that would deteriorate the concrete over time. Those are the type of, types of recommendations we try to make to a client moving forward, especially once the repairs have been done because we don't want those repairs to become, to deteriorate over time.

Because again, we have to do this all over again, right? And ideally what you want when the repairs are done, you want to spend less and less and less money. That's the process. 

Emily Myers: Yes. So you mentioned sand over salt. Is that right? Or, or are you using that synon- Yeah ... you know, the same- 

Charles Phillips: Sand over salt.

Absolutely. There's one client that I have, he t- he particularly does that because he doesn't want it to deteriorate the concrete faster over time. Um, and so it, it does take a little bit more work in terms of just the preparation getting the, getting the snow away because you're not using trucks to do it and you're just using the snowblower, so it takes a lot more time and you're doing it by hand.

But you are also spending less money over time in that regard when it comes to repairs. If you do have a garage that is exposed to the elements, you know, I would have the clients to think about that process in the long run. 

Emily Myers: Okay. And is that something you, you know, you can advise on if your client, you know, is saying, "How do we, how do we, you know, f- avoid further deterioration or, or at least minimize it?"

Charles Phillips: Yeah, no, absolutely. We can definitely make that recommendation. That's common knowledge. It's, it's really the question on if the client wants to do it or not, you know, and it's really their call. But absolutely, we can make that recommendation. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So what's then the biggest perhaps misconception, uh, co-op and condo boards have about garage inspections?

That they're fairly simple? 

Charles Phillips: Yeah. I think that's, that, that might be that they're fairly simple or what's the purpose of this? You know, I don't think this is any issue at all. Well, yes, maybe to the common eye it is not an issue, uh, but that's why you need the professionals to come in because the inception of this entire process for the garage inspections is because we had an unfortunate event that did occur here in New York City.

And so that was, I think, an extreme measure. However, why you want to have professionals to come in to look at your structure is to really ensure that there's nothing that we see that can be detrimental. Because when structure fails, it fails, and it's instant, instantaneous, and it's quick. So you don't want that, you know.

It, it, it ... I know it might seem a little sacrificial in a way, some, some cracks and deficiencies, but, you know, the safety of the residents is really most important and we just wanna make sure to try and reinforce that as much as possible. 

Emily Myers: So then if you're a board member listening and you're not quite sure about your garage compliance status, what should you be doing?

Charles Phillips: Well, the first step is to know, just to know where your cycle is. I mean, we're at cycle C now, so I hope you were not in cycle A or B because you will have penalties now. So in this case, this is the first six years that we're kind of gonna be wrapping up in, uh, 27, '7. So that'll be the first thing we're wrapping up.

If you are in cycle C, cycle C, you should be having a contractor in place, someone to get the repairs done, and get your report done simultaneous, right? Some people might wanna do it separately, but you can technically do it all together. Get the contractor, get the work done, do your final report, and you're done.

That's really all that requires. You have two years starting now at the beginning of this year. Okay. 

Emily Myers: Yeah. And just in terms of, uh, perhaps some of the physical red flags that you might see that, that might hint that there's a sort of slightly more serious problems, what should board members, but also shareholders, unit owners, what, what should they be looking for when they're parking up?

Charles Phillips: Yeah. So, uh, let's take this back to what I said earlier with something being slab on grade versus not being on slab on grade. If your cars have oil, salt, residue coming in, and if you have anything below that area and you see any type of sinking, and if you have a space below, and there's this area that say, "Hmm, that looks like it's sinking over time.

Uh, I, I've noticed a small crack", that can be an issue, right? Because we don't know what it looks like underneath. Mm-hmm. How much water has gotten underneath that. Because if there's a crack and there's a space below, I can guarantee you water is getting there. 

Emily Myers: So, so seeing any leaks or dripping would be another issue to be- Absolutely

raising. Great. Well, Charles, thanks so much. I think you've, you've, uh, kind of identified that perhaps even a relatively straightforward garage repair can turn into a compliance scramble, and we all want that to be avoided. So thank you very much. Charles Phillips, senior project manager at Merritt Engineering Consultant.

And our Problem Solved series dives into dozens of real world examples of everything from interior design to major engineering projects with cost saving tips, board focused strategy, and of course, lessons learned. If you're a board member with your own story to share, we'd also love to hear from you.

Please do get in touch online at habitatmag.com or through the contact details in our monthly print magazine. 

Merritt Engineering: You've been listening to Charles Phillips, senior project manager at Merritt Engineering. Ever feel like your building is always playing catch-up? Another repair? Another surprise cost? Merritt Engineering helps co-op and condo boards get ahead of it all.

From local law compliance to long-term capital planning, they make the complex stuff simple and help you make smarter decisions for your building. Trusted by boards across New York City, Merritt Engineering turns uncertainty into a clear path forward. Visit Merrittengineering.com to learn more and schedule a consultation.