Facade safety at Dorchester Towers.
The current facade grade, the full inspection history, the next- report window, and any filing penalties on record for 155 WEST 68 STREET — sourced from NYC’s public DOB facade (FISP) filings. Last inspection: 2020–25.
SWARMP
SWARMPSafe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
Every facade cycle on record for this building, oldest first. Each cycle is a fixed five-year window; the grade is the result the building’s licensed inspector filed with the city. A steady run of “Safe” is a good sign; repeated SWARMP or Unsafe cycles point to a facade that keeps needing work.
| Cycle | Status |
|---|---|
| 2005–10 | Safe |
| 2010–15 | Safe |
| 2015–20 | Safe |
| 2020–25 | SWARMP |
| 2025–30 | Next report due |
- Local Law 11 / FISP
- New York requires every building over six stories to have a licensed engineer inspect its exterior walls every five years and file the results with the city — so nothing can come loose and fall to the sidewalk. The official name is the Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP).
- Safe
- The facade is in good shape. Nothing is required until the next five-year inspection.
- SWARMP
- Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program — safe to live in today, but the engineer flagged things that must be repaired by a deadline. Miss the deadline and it drops to Unsafe.
- Unsafe
- Hazardous conditions. The building must put up a sidewalk shed and make repairs right away.
- QEWI
- Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed architect or engineer the city requires to do the inspection and sign the report. It can't be the super or the managing agent.
- Sidewalk shed
- The temporary roofed scaffolding over a sidewalk that protects pedestrians during (or pending) facade work. One that's been up for years usually signals a stalled repair.
- Cycle
- Inspections run on a rolling five-year cycle (currently Cycle 10, 2025–2030). Buildings file within a two-year sub-window set by their block number — which is how the next-report date is estimated.
Underwriting a purchase at Dorchester Towers?
Facade status is one layer of building diligence. Reserves, assessment history, board posture, sponsor sales dynamics, and how the building’s capital plan funds the next round of facade work all matter. The Roebling Team does this layer of work on every client transaction.
For the full building read on Dorchester Towers, see the editorial profile — architect, history, board character, recent sales context.
Schedule a 30-minute consultation →