Jersey City mayor seeks waterfront high-rise inspections after Surfside collapse

Following the Surfside condominium collapse on June 24 in Miami, Fla., Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announced July 7 that he plans to ramp up inspections for the flurry of high-rise properties going up over the Hudson River.

As part of the proposed inspections, any building above six stories would need an exterior inspection done every five years and a structural inspection every 10 years for such features as the foundation and balconies. Fulop said he will introduce legislation at the July 14 city council meeting enacting those new building codes.

Since the 12-story Champlain Towers South collapse two weeks ago, 46 victims have been retrieved from the rubble with dozens more missing, according to media reports. Now, search and rescue personnel are racing against Tropical Storm Elsa, which was upgraded to a hurricane and is on a collision course with the Florida panhandle.

The structural integrity of the tower has become the focal point of a flurry of lawsuits filed against the building’s condominium board.

“Since the sad news from Florida, we’ve had Jersey City residents in several buildings reach out with the knowledge that their condo boards are delaying work because of the potential cost to residents,” Fulop said in a statement.

He estimated that Jersey City has the most high-rise buildings of any municipality in the state. Jersey City is the second-largest municipality in New Jersey, behind just Newark.

“Our goal is to strengthen our policies in order to provide the best protection for our residents and the community at large,”  the mayor said.