Again this summer, we’re fortunate to have two new interns—and three “veterans”—joining our practice. These internships offer an introduction to our profession and to the art, science, and business of restoring New York City’s buildings and infrastructure.

NYC’s miles of sidewalk vaults are generally out of sight, so they can also be out of mind. Facades, retaining walls, and parking structures are all subject to New York City Local Laws (11, 37, and 126) mandating periodic inspections. We’re not proposing another local law (although we wouldn’t bet against one), but vaults also require regular examination and repair to keep them structurally sound and watertight.

By a show of paws (or hands) SUPERSTRUCTURES’ team members are proponents of “adopt, don’t shop” when it comes to pets. Here are just a few of the dogs and cats we’ve adopted. The same guiding principle can be applied to buildings; like animals in need of homes, they're worthy of adoption.

You might notice that we often include images of brick matching in our project profile videos. Why? Because we strive for seamless repairs, whether they're prominent on the ground floor or high on a facade.

Congratulations to the New York Landmarks Conservancy (NYLC) on another year of preserving the city we love. The Conservancy’s 2024 Annual Report highlights the organization’s extensive work in championing preservation, supporting the designation of landmarks and historic districts, and providing preservation services and restoration grants.

Our 2025 series of “Lunch & Learn” seminars continued last week with "The Ins and Outs of Reroofing" presented by Michael Popeck of GAF/Siplast. 60 SUPERSTRUCTURES team members expanded their knowledge of reroofing, earned CEUs, and enjoyed a free lunch in our presentation space.

Your facade doesn’t care about local laws or initiatives like “Get Sheds Down.” Building owners must comply with such regulations, but building envelopes are subject to more universal factors: weather, climate, gravity, and time. Municipal ordinances may come and go. But unless we repeal the laws of physics, the envelope always will require remediation of deteriorated conditions—or better yet proactive attention.

The term "landmark" has a formal meaning that’s significant in the restoration universe, because a variety of government agencies regulate restoration efforts on designated landmarks. Buildings can be officially landmarked at the local, state, or federal level, and SUPERSTRUCTURES has worked on many landmarked structures and non-landmarks alike.

Closed-source versus open-source systems can be traced back to the Roman Empire (at least). In ill-fated Pompeii, well-preserved chariot tracks demonstrate a closed-source approach. Today, we favor open-source systems for the sake of our contractors and clients.

When public agencies bid out construction work for exterior restoration projects, they are generally obligated to award the job to the bidder with the lowest lump-sum price. The entire universe of contractors is eligible to bid, and sometimes 50 bids are received. Such “open calls” are one reason that these clients value SUPERSTRUCTURES’ change order-resistant drawings and specifications.