Midtown high-rise evacuee after buckling columns exposes inspection failures

City records show Domani Inspection Services was repeatedly accused of breaking New York City rules before a Midtown Manhattan high-rise it worked on was evacuated after buckling columns raised fears of structural instability. The building sat in a major office-to-residential conversion, one of the projects intended to turn empty Midtown towers into housing as New York tries to ease its shortage.

The tower had already accumulated complaints and violations before the structural problem was discovered. That history now sits at the center of scrutiny over how warning signs were handled at a site where the Department of Buildings later investigated numerous complaints and violations tied to the property. The evacuation turned a single building failure into a wider question about whether the city’s inspection system catches problems early enough in conversions that alter some of Manhattan’s biggest structures.

The Department of Buildings says it oversees approximately one million buildings and properties across New York City. Its inspectors issue violations when work or property conditions do not comply with the city Construction Codes, the Zoning Resolution, and other applicable laws and rules. But a recent audit by the New York City Comptroller found the agency relies almost exclusively on 311 complaints for enforcement actions, and that some communities are disproportionately affected by assessed penalties.

That complaint-driven model leaves little margin for error at major construction and conversion sites, where structural risks can emerge before a neighbor files a call to 311. In Midtown, the buckling columns exposed how much depends on inspection and enforcement layers working together, especially on projects converting older office stock into housing.

Domani Inspection Services describes itself as an internationally accredited special inspections firm and says it is an NYC Department of Buildings-approved special inspections agency, SIA#000843. City records show that the firm had already been accused repeatedly of breaking city rules before the evacuation, a record that raises fresh doubts about how closely inspection firms are being watched while they sign off on some of the city’s most consequential building work.