FISP

FISP — the Façade Inspection & Safety Program, still widely called Local Law 11 after the law that shaped it — requires owners of buildings taller than the program's story threshold to have their street-facing façades inspected by a qualified professional on a recurring multi-year cycle, and to file the resulting reports with the Department of Buildings. Each filing classifies the façade as safe, safe with a repair and maintenance program, or unsafe; an unsafe classification obligates immediate protective measures (the city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds) and repairs on a clock.

For buyers and lenders, FISP history is a direct read on deferred maintenance: chronic 'safe with repair' filings and long-standing sheds signal costs that will eventually come due.