FISP (Facade Inspection Safety Program), the mechanism behind Local Law 11, organizes New York City's covered buildings into recurring filing cycles, each broken into three sub-cycles based on borough and block number. If you own or manage a building over six stories, knowing exactly where your building falls in the current cycle — and planning access equipment early — is the difference between a smooth filing and a scramble against a deadline.
How FISP Cycles Work
Each FISP cycle runs on a roughly five-year recurring basis, with buildings assigned to sub-cycles based on the last digit of their block number. This staggering spreads DOB's review workload across the cycle rather than creating a single citywide deadline, but it also means owners need to actively confirm which sub-cycle applies to their specific building rather than assuming a generic timeline.
Why Planning Early Matters More Than the Deadline Itself
The filing deadline is really the last item in a chain of dependencies: a QEWI needs to be engaged, a close-up inspection needs to happen (which almost always requires suspended scaffold, swing stage, or rope access), and any conditions found need to be documented and, if unsafe, addressed before filing. Waiting until close to the deadline to start this chain is the single most common reason buildings miss their window or file incomplete reports.
What to Do Now, Regardless of Your Exact Deadline
- Confirm your building's specific sub-cycle with your QEWI or a facade compliance consultant
- Engage your QEWI early — inspection teams get busier as deadlines across the cycle approach
- Schedule access equipment in advance — suspended scaffold and swing stage installations require their own DOB permit, which takes time
- Budget for potential repair work if your facade hasn't been inspected recently and its condition is uncertain
What Happens If a Deadline Is Missed
Missing a FISP filing deadline results in DOB violations and escalating civil penalties for every day the building remains non-compliant. Beyond the financial exposure, an overdue inspection means any developing facade condition — the actual safety concern the law addresses — goes unverified for longer than intended.
Access Equipment Lead Time
Because suspended scaffold and swing stage installations require engineering and DOB permitting before they can go up, building owners should plan to engage an access provider well before the inspection needs to happen — not after the QEWI is already on standby waiting for equipment. See our DOB scaffold permit guide for realistic timeline expectations.
If Repairs Are Needed After Inspection
If your FISP inspection identifies an unsafe condition, the same access equipment is often needed again for repair work, and sometimes a third time for post-repair verification. Building this into your initial planning — rather than booking access equipment piecemeal each time — is usually more efficient for buildings with any history of facade issues.
Skybridge Access coordinates suspended scaffold, swing stage, and rope access equipment for FISP Cycle 10 inspections and any resulting repair work, working directly with your QEWI's timeline across all five boroughs.