It's About Time

Robert M. Scarano, the opportunistic, scofflaw, robber baron who likes to masquerade under the lofty title architect, the bane of many New Yorker's existence, has finally been charged with something.

Reports City Room:

Administrative charges have been filed against Robert M. Scarano Jr., an architect who built his career during Brooklyn’s construction boom, saying that he made false or misleading statements on applications submitted to the Department of Buildings in connection with two projects in Greenpoint, the authorities announced on Thursday.

The administrative charges, which could result in the suspension or revocation of Mr. Scarano’s ability to file documents with the buildings department, involve documents for two Brooklyn apartment houses that Mr. Scarano filed with the department in 2000 and 2002. The building department and the city’s Investigation Department said in a joint statement:

Scarano is alleged to have improperly divided a zoning lot into two smaller lots for the two new buildings, 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue, resulting in the construction of two noncompliant buildings. With the two independent zoning lots, 158 Freeman Street could not have been legally built at all as a residential building and 1037 Manhattan Avenue as designed would have been smaller by approximately 2,000 square feet.

Scarano is being charged under a new state law which allows the buildings commissioner "to exclude licensed architects from filing applications for permits if they are found to have knowingly or negligently submitted false documents. Mr. Scarano may respond to the charges and present a defense to an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Tribunals and Hearings."

Why Cranes Keep Crashing

Now we're really getting to the nitty gritty of how dirty and corrupt the Department of Building is, and what exactly is proving to be the hallmark of Bloomberg's administation.

City Room reports that the city’s chief crane inspector is a lying, bribe-taking, records-tampering, soon-to-be felon. James Delayo was arrested Friday and charged with taking money to pass cranes under his review. He also pocketed cash from crane companies who wanted to make sure that their employees would pass the required licensing exam. How did they ensure it? By paying Delayo $3,000 for a copy of the crane operator’s exam and the test answers! More:

Mr. Delayo, who is being prosecuted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, surrendered this morning to investigators from the city Department of Investigation, the official said.

The charges against Mr. Delayo, 60, were to include third-degree bribe-receiving and first-degree tampering with public records, both D felonies for which he could face up to seven years in prison, come just a week after the city’s second fatal tower crane collapse in 10 weeks.

...

"This is a case where greed trumps safety," said Daniel J. Castleman, the chief assistant district attorney in Mr. Morgenthau’s office, which is investigating the crane collapse last week. "With all the construction going on in New York City and the fatal accidents of the last few months, this type of conduct can not and will not be tolerated."

Delayo, a 26-year veteran of the Building Department has signed off on the annual inspection of between 20 and 30 Class C cranes since 2002, the Times said. How much did he get for passing on an inspection. A measly few hundred dollar. Hey, that's fair enough for endangering the public's welfare, isn't it?

"In addition to the bribe receiving and tampering with public records counts," said the Times, "prosecutors also expect to charge him with first-degree falsifying business records, an E felony which carries a maximum four-years term, and receiving an unlawful gratuity, a misdemeanor for which he could face up to a year in jail."

So what about all those crane operators who did work while knowing they hadn't taken the test, or had cheated? What about the companies they worked for? Seems to me they should all be arrested and tried.

So, Mayor Mike: Do you still think the federal government and the stage government shouldn't get involved?

From the Rich Irony Department

Hey look! Next week is the Department of Building's "4th Annual Construction Safety Week." How's that for weird timing?

Guess Patricia Lancaster—doubtless the founder of this festival—won't be around to oversee this one. Well that's no excuse for us all not to have a good safe time! I will be sure to be there on May 1 for "Crane Safety: New Regulations You Need to Know." Seating is limited, they tell us.

Lancaster, the Scapegoat

Don't misconstrue the title of this post. Patricia Lancaster got exactly what she deserved when Mayor Bloomberg yesterday accepted her resignation/canned her ass as head of the Department of Building. She may have made some inroads in streamlined and organizing an "agency in disarray"—as the New York Times, with agonizing fairness, never ceases to point out—but she approved hundreds of construction projects knowing her agency was not sufficiently staffed to keep proper tabs on the project; coddled developers; looked the other way when building infractions came rolling in; and ignored the complaints and cries of concerned citizens. Under her, the agency's name was taken quite literally. It was the DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING. Lots of building. It was not the Department of Building Supervision and Regulation.

That said, Lancaster is a scapegoat. She was operating just as Bloomberg and his former Machiavelli Dan Doctoroff instructed her to: sign off on as many development projects as possible and "don't sweat the small stuff," as the Voice put it in a recent article. Bloomberg has positioned himself in such a way that he gets off scot free (as he usually does), taking no responsibility for the construction accidents and deaths which are basically his fault. First, he completely distanced himself from the horrific east side crane accident that got the recent ball of DOB criticism rolling. Lancaster took all the heat, and Bloomberg remained at a safe distance, writing poetry and such. Then, when he saw the press, public and politicians weren't going to let up—that the issue wasn't going to blow over—he began to condemn Lancaster.

Gowanus Lounge put it as well as anyone could this morning:

On Monday, Mayor Bloomberg said "I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance." The statement was disingenuous at best and self-servingly cynical at worst. The construction boom and DOB's laissez faire attitude have happened under Mr. Bloomberg's watch and the placement of the agency under former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's purview for most of his administration symbolized the back seat that regulating building took to encouraging development. The city's worst kept secret for much of the last six years has been the fact that DOB was expected not to interfere in major ways with development. If this meant looking the other way while safety, work hour and other regulations were violated with impunity, well, that was a small price for one of the biggest building booms in New York history.

That statement, the oft-quoted "I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance," was weasely, back-stabbing, scapegoating, political double-speak at its worst. It was bottom-of-the-barrel stuff and anyone who's a student of the political art would recognize it as such. You can bet as Lancaster watched Mayor Mike utter that line on television, she was muttering "son of a bitch" under her breath. Bloomberg was plenty satisfied the Lancaster and the DOB—it was doing exactly what he wanted it to do, with as little money as he chose to give it—until its corrupt performance began to impinge on his image as an infallible leader.

Lancaster's departure is a good thing. She's was a feckless puppet of the development cabal. She was no public servant. The problem is her successor will be selected by the same man who chose her.

Bulletin: It's Happened!!

There is justice in New York City. Read on:

Bloomberg’s Buildings Chief Resigns

By Diane Cardwell

Facing mounting pressure and dwindling confidence from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg over her handling of the Department of Buildings, Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster resigned on Tuesday.

The first woman to lead the troubled agency and one of the only commissioners to leave the administration under a cloud, she is departing as a series of high profile construction accidents and bureaucratic problems have embarrassed the agency and the mayor.

Mr. Bloomberg announced at 12:10 p.m. that he had accepted her resignation. He had hired Ms. Lancaster, an architect, to modernize the 1,286-person agency, which issues permits, oversees construction and enforces the building code. But the agency had come under increasing criticism.

This year, there have been 13 fatalities at construction sites in the city, including seven in a March 15 crane collapse, compared with 12 during all of 2007. In another case, investigators found after the death of two firefighters in an Aug. 18, 2007, fire at the former Deutsche Bank building near ground zero that building inspectors had failed to detect numerous violations, including the dismantling of a standpipe that would have carried water to firefighters at the top of the building.

The announcement on Tuesday afternoon included a statement from Mr. Bloomberg:

This morning, I met with Patricia Lancaster at Gracie Mansion and accepted her resignation as New York City’s Buildings Commissioner. Over the past six years, Patricia has moved the Department of Buildings a long way forward by fighting corruption, strengthening inspections and oversight, increasing the public’s access to information, and bringing increased levels of professionalism and integrity to all levels of her agency. Patricia led a comprehensive overhaul of the City’s byzantine building code, the first in 40 years, which will make the construction of homes, schools, stores and offices in New York City safer, more affordable and more environmentally friendly for years to come. Patricia leaves a strong foundation of reform and improvement for her successors to build on, and I thank her for her dedication to making New York City a far better place to live, work and visit.

It also included this statement from Ms. Lancaster:

Today I submitted my resignation, which Mayor Bloomberg accepted. It has been an honor serving in his administration and I thank the Mayor for this opportunity. After six years in public service, I made this decision because I felt it was time to return to the private sector. I am proud of the groundbreaking work the department has done during my tenure to root out corruption, increase transparency, overhaul the building code and increase safety for workers and the public alike. My message today to the talented and capable staff at the Department of Buildings is to keep up the hard work: you’ve made so much important progress. It has been my distinct pleasure working with you.

Both statements are utter, mealy-mouthed crap, of course. You knew Lancaster's days were numbered when Bloomie stopped supporting her at press conferences. Still, I'm amazed Mayor Mike admitted to any fault in his administration.

Not to be smug, but this blog was the first I know of to call for her resignation in the wake of the crane accident. But congratulations to all the NYC blogs out there who kept the heat on the issue of rampant overdevelopment and the DOB's shoddy, corrupt performance, and finally forced the print dailies to take notice.

Now, let's see if Mike has the courage to appoint someone who will actually clean up the department, look out for the citizenry and keep developers in line. Let us not forget that whatever Lancaster did, she did with the tacit (or even explicit) approval of her boss.

Lancaster the Scapegoat

Lunch with Mike, Amanda and Patty

(Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden and Department of Building Commissioner Patricia Lancaster walk down 52nd Street toward the Four Seasons Restaurant. Lancaster suddenly crosses to the other side of the street.)

Bloomberg: Patty! What's wrong with you. Get over here.

Lancaster: That thing looks a little shaky, Mr. Mayor.

Burden: What thing, Patty?

Lancaster: I don't walk under those anymore.

Bloomberg: That's an awning, you nitwit, not scaffolding. Stop cowering. I'm hungry. (Looks at the passing cars.) Goddamn traffic!

(They pass up the stairs to the restaurant.)

Bloomberg: Hello, Julian.

Julian Niccolini: Mr. Mayor, so good to see you. Your usual table?

Burden: The pool! The pool!

Bloomberg: The Grill Room is better for business.

Burden: The pool!

Bloomberg: All right, all right. Don't know how Steve Ross put up with you, Amanda. Julian, this place still landmarked?

Julian: I am happy to say it is. One of only two restaurant interiors in the city.

Bloomberg: What's the other?

Julian: Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn.

Bloomberg: Yeah. That closed, didn't it. It's a TGI Friday's now. Not as good as Subway, but good.

Julian: I believe that restaurant is also gone now.

Bloomberg: Too bad. It was good.

Julian: I did not have the pleasure.

Bloomberg: Yeah, yeah. If you want to fix that landmarking thing, just let me know. I can make it happen. You could spiff up the place. Give it a new look.

Julian: I will keep that in mind, Mr. Mayor. Here you are, ladies.

Lancaster: My, these prices are high.

Bloomberg: Look at those ceilings. Lot of wasted space here. Could fit three, four condo units in here.

Lancaster: Are there sharing plates?

Bloomberg: When are they gonna get Cheeze-its on this thing? I've told Julian...

Burden: I'm having the lobster.

Bloomberg: Me, too.

Lancaster: But they don't list the price.

Burden: Don't be such a skinflint, Patty. Live a little.

Lancaster: But...

Bloomberg: What you need is one of those things Quinn has, that slush fund...

Lancaster: Really? Can I get one of those?

Bloomberg: Uh, no. Belt-tightening, Patty. Belt-tightening. I'm asking all of the agencies...

Lancaster: But I read where you have more staff than ever...

Bloomberg: I asking most of the agencies...

Lancaster: I was just thinking I could use a few more building inspectors...

Bloomberg: The economy. Fiscal responsibility, Patty. I run City Hall like a business. Lotsa cubicles. That's why I'm such a raging success and people want me to be President.

Burden: I thought that was...

Bloomberg: I mean Governor.

Burden: Now, this is the kind of place I was talking about. The kind of place Harlem needs more of.

Lancaster: The Four Seasons?

Burden: If there was a Four Seasons on 125th Street, people would go to the Appalling Theatre.

Bloomberg: Apollo.

Burden: The Apollo Theatre. People will understand when the building gets underway. I know. I was a public schoolteacher in Harlem in the 1960s and there was never any decent sushi.

Bloomberg: Building? That reminds me. How much building we got going on, Patty.

Lancaster: I don't know. They keep asking me that. I don't know.

Bloomberg: Well, how many buildings did you approve today?

Lancaster: None.

Burden: None? Not even for 125th Street? Do you need an engraved invitation?

Lancaster: Well, there was that crane thing...

Bloomberg: I not interested in some new chick at the Bronx Zoo.

Lancaster: No, the crane that fell down. On the East Side.

Bloomberg: That was weeks ago.

Lancaster: People are upset, I'm afraid. My feet are really to the fire. They're accusing me of the most upsetting things...

Burden: So what? That crazy man at the commission meeting when we approved the Harlem rezoning yelled at me. He called me "a rich, rich, rich person."

Lancaster: Actually he called you a rich, rich, rich horrible person.

Burden: Oh. I wondered why he was so upset. I thought he was just jealous. If he wants to be rich, he should marry his own money.

Bloomberg: What's wrong with people? This is the nature of development. A few falling cranes are perfectly normal.

Lancaster: But people died...

Bloomberg: A few deaths are perfectly normal. Why, I killed a few people building my place in Bermuda. My God, Patty, do I have to have Doctoroff call you again and explain it all?

Lancaster: (shuddering) No, no, please don't do that.

Bloomberg: Man, cranes weren't falling when Doctoroff was around. I'm going to have Doctoroff call you.

Lancaster: No, please, Mr. Mayor...

Waiter: Have you decided?

Burden: Lobster. And the foie gras to start.

Bloomberg: That stuff'll kill you. You know what they do to those geese? I'm thinking of outlawing it in New York restaurants. That and salt. I'll have Lobster, too. Beet salad to start.

Lancaster: Could I get a bowl of consomme?

Burden: Oh, for heaven's sake, Patty, why don't ask them to boil you up some Raman noodles?

Lancaster: Well, I'm sorry if I'm not the richest person in New York City.

Burden: Well, neither am I, but you don't see me complaining.

Bloomberg: I am! But my parents were middle-class. Did I mention that. In fact, they were the last decent middle-class people to live in this country. Now all the best people are rich.

Lancaster: I'm not hungry.

Bloomberg: Amanda, how's that Chinatown rezoning coming?

Burden: Almost there. You know, I can never find anyplace to eat down there.

Bloomberg: Because I was on Pell Street the other day and all those buildings seemed really short. And dirty. The area's a mess.

Burden: It'll soon be fixed.

Julian: (carrying a bottle of Krug champagne) With the compliments of the gentleman across the pool.

Bloomberg: Who's that? Ah, geez. Ratner. Send it back, send it back. He's just wants something. Say, Julian, Obama been here lately?

Julian: Not in the past week.

Bloomberg: I've got an idea I want to run by him.

(Suddenly there is a loud crack following by a creaking sound. A huge crane crashes through the west wall of the Pool Room landing on Bruce Ratner, killing him instantly.)

Burden: Uh. My dress!

Lancaster: (rocking back and forth, reciting as if by rote) I inherited from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani a department in disarray. I inherited from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani a department in disarray.

Bloomberg: On second thought, Julian, leave the Krug.

DOB's Lancaster Admits She Screwed Up, in Several Ways

Embattled Department of Building head Patricia Lancaster—who is twisting in the wind while her boss Michael Bloomberg airs his poetical works—confessed at a Thursday City Council hearing that the East Side building that last month sent a crane hurling to earth, killing seven people, was not only in severe violation of building codes but did not conform with zoning regulations and was approved in error.

You got that right: it shouldn't have been built in the first place!

My favorite part of the New York Times account is this jaw-dropping exchange:

"Wow," said Councilwoman Jessica S. Lappin, whose district includes the site of the crane collapse. "You’re telling me this building should never have been approved in the first place?"

"That is correct," Ms. Lancaster replied.

After her testimony, Ms. Lancaster sought to clarify her remarks with reporters.

I'll bet she did! The mistake of approving the building was apparent discovered before the crane accident, but not acted on "because buildings officials were talking to [developer James] Kennelly to resolve the matter." Only the DOB won't say exactly when the found out the 43-story thing had no write to be there.

Other things Lancaster can't account for include the pace of building construction in New York City. She had no real answer for the Council. Also, the locations of buildings it has deemed dangerous—like the one that suddenly collapsed in Harlem on March 4. The Daily News reported, "Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster then promised a review of 'every outstanding emergency declaration in the city.' As of Wednesday [April 16] she could not provide the location of even one."

As of April 18, Lancaster still had her job. Somehow.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

A roller rink opens in Coney Island in a former Childs restaurant. Gee, Childs has been in the news a lot for a defunct chow chain.

The Landmarks Commission seems seems to think tearing landmarks down may be appropriate.

More evidence that the Department of Building's ineptitude and corruption leads to deaths.

An old-style newsstand survived on the Upper East Side despite an assassination attempt from the self-appointed eyesore police.

Department of Building Official Is Corrupt, Lies, Gets Arrested

Remember the repeated claims from the Department of Building that the crane that sliced through Turtle Bay last weekend, killing seven people, has been inspected several times before the accident?

Well, late today, the Buildings Department inspector who claimed to have made an inspection on March 4, Edward J. Marquette, was arrested and charged with lying to New York City authorities. Turns out he didn't actually inspect that crane on March 4. Turns out he made entries on a Buildings Department inspector’s route sheet indicating that he did make the inspection. Turns out that he lied to everyone about it over the past week. And turns out he hasn't shaved in a few days.

Marquette, who is only paid $48 grand a year for his very vital work, was arraigned in Criminal Court in Manhattan on one count of falsifying business records in the first degree and one count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, "both felonies that can be punished by up to four years in prison," according to City Room.

DOB commish Patricia Lancaster—who's still reporting for work—insisted Marquette's dishonesty and failure to inspect the crane had nothing whatsoever to do with the accident, and banged her desk with her fist, saying she wouldn't stand for such rank corruption. Next we'll hear how Marquette was a renegade inspector and completely out of keeping with the department's other staff members. Perhaps he was a loner, kept to himself.

Meanwhile, Stuart Loeser, the flack who speaks for Mayor Bloomberg, and earlier this week defended Ms. Lancaster and called Council Member Tony Avella call for her resignation "foolishness," told the New York Sun his opinion of the situation had not changed. That the City has side with rich developers and not with its citizens is so transparent at this point. I find it interesting that our billionaire Mayor, whose wealth is supposed to protect him from undue influence by money-mongering outside influence, should still be so beholden to the development and real estate interests.

Some Stuff About Landmarks in Distress

The City, in an unusual pro-preservation move, took the landlord of the landmarked, but ailing, 1881, Hell's Kitchen apartment complex The Windermere to court for failing to keep the buildings in good repair. Scumlord Masako Yamagata didn't show (no surprise, since he's 89, ailing and lives in Japan), but sent his scumlord lawyer Steven S. Sieratzki, who said he hadn't read all the materials.

More untended landmarks. 287 Broadway is now leaning eight inches to the south. The villain in this case also lives out of town: John Buck Company of Chicago, which ripped down the building that surrounded the landmark, so it could erect a 20-story condo tower, thus removing the landmark's support system. So far, no one at Buck has said "sorry."


170 Smith Street is a-comin' down. Another red-letter day for the DOB.

The Kosciuszko Bridge is a-comin' down, too, but on purpose.

Part of a Childs restaurant mosaic is still visible on lower Broadway.

How Much Are Construction Deaths Worth?

I've found myself disturbed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Building Commissioner Patricia Lancaster's smooth reactions to the deaths caused by the East Side Manhattan crane accident of this past weekend.

The death toll from the accident, in which a huge crane plummeted to the ground and sliced through several buildings, demolishing one, had risen from four to seven yesterday. The additional victims were Santino Gallone and Clifford Canzona, and Odin Torres, who lived in South Florida and was visiting for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
The other victims were Wayne Bleidner, 51, of Pelham, N.Y., the crane’s operator; Anthony C. Mazza, 40, a rigger, of Staten Island; and Brad Cohen, a rigger; and Aaron Stephens. A nylon sling, perhaps dangerously overloaded, is now suspected as the cause of the disaster.

Our City's leader's reaction? Mumblings about how it's tragic, that accidents will happen and construction is a dangerous job. Virtually no intimation that someone, or some department or some system is at fault here. Just lame comments on how investigations are continuing. It's as if Bloomberg were talking about a tornado that ripped through town, not a catastrophe brought on by his heedless advocacy of heedless overdevelopment. This was not a freak accident, as City Hall is characterizing it. It was an inevitability.

If a New York City police officer caused the unwarranted death of a citizen, there would be hue and cry, protests, raging editorials, and politicians on the ropes. Why are these deaths—also caused by the deficient performance of a City-employed official (Lancaster and her criminally ineffective department)—any different? Why are construction deaths shrugged off by City Hall as part and parcel with the the business of running the City? The victims are hardly mentioned and never lamented, aside from pat comments that Mike's and Patty's thoughts are with the families. How does Lancaster imagine she is being respectful of these families' great losses by steadfastly remaining in her post?

The Daily Kos suggests that Bloomberg should attend each funeral and I see nothing amiss in that proposal. The deaths are ultimately the result of his policies. (The way many construction workers gathered to pay their respects to their fallen colleagues reminded me of the way policemen and firemen show similar respect for those in their ranks who have died in the line of duty.)

"That crane came within feet of taking out a 12-story building full of people," one fire commander told The Daily News. Would Bloomberg and Lancaster be more contrite if dozens of people had died instead of "just" seven? Would they change course in their attitude toward rampant construction and City Hall's big bear hug of all developers? Would anything cause Bloomberg to change course? Or is he as blinkered, closed-off and pig-headed as our President?

In a column in the New York Post, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer compared the accident to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a bellwether of the last century the brought on sweeping changes in corrupy citywide labor laws. He invoked the disaster as a way of indicating that vast changes at the DOB are called for in the wake of the crane accident. Will such changes occur? Sadly, tragically, criminally, another crane accident is probably more likely.

Some Stuff That's Interesting, and One That's Repellent

The New Apollo Restaurant on Livingston in downtown Brooklyn is getting a new sign. The old one was great. Let's hope they don't screw it up.

Coney Island was neat, and really crowded, in the '40s.

Central Park South dining mainstay San Domenico is moving to Midtown because of a rent dispute with its landlord.

The East Side Manhattan Crane crash has claimed a total of nine lives. Mayor Bloomberg says we shouldn't "rush to judgment" about the accident. DOB commish Patricia Lancaster still has her job.

Queens Crap reveals a particularly revolting example of the kind of philistine behavior encouraged by Bloomberg and Lancaster's current stance on development.

I'm Not the Only One...

...calling for DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster's resignation after the horrific Midtown crane accident over the weekend.

The New York Sun reported a similar cry from Queens City Council member Tony Avella:

"This is just the latest incident," Mr. Avella, who called for Ms. Lancaster's resignation previously after a fatal accident at the Trump SoHo construction site, said yesterday. "How many people have to die before the mayor realizes that the Department of Building, which is ultimately responsible for construction in this city, is in total chaos?"

The City response? Typical:

A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, Stu Loeser, said Mr. Avella's resignation call was off base. "Such comments indicate a total lack of understanding of the situation, and we're not going to dignify such foolishness with a response," Mr. Loeser said.

It's as if Lancaster has become the Bloomberg administration's Rumsfeld. No matter how badly she screws up, Mayor Mike will defend her and say she's doing a great job.

By the way, I completely concur with this analysis of the DOB's problems and how to fix them on Gowanus Lounge.

Department of Disaster

Now, let's look at the Department of Building's 2008 track record:

*March 15: A large crane fell away from a tower under construction at 303 East 51st Street, hurtling down to smash buildings blocks away and kill at least four people and injure 17. Fully 39 complaints had been filed against the site. A complaint on March 4 by a former contractor had warned that the crane was not properly attached. A DOB inspector concluded "No violation warranted for complaint at time of inspection." "Enough is enough," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. "We've closed restaurants that have fruit flies, but we don't close construction sites that have major safety violations. We have to revamp the construction protocols.We have failed this borough and the people of the city. It is unacceptable and it has to be stopped." (Picture courtesy of Curbed.)

*March 8-9: The Trump Soho tower was closed after a chain attached to equipment swung about, smashing a bunch of windows.

*March 4: A Jared Kushner building, which had been failing for months, completely collapsed near 124th Street and Park Avenue. Metro-North Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line train service was temporarily suspended. The DOB actually admitted to screwing up on this one.

*Feb. 1: A crane collapsed at a construction site at Washington Street and Watts Streets in TriBeCa.

*Jan. 30: A worker at a 13-story building in Clinton Hill was reportedly blown from a window on the top floor due to "a wind-tunnel effect" and fell to his death.

*Jan 14: A man fell from the 42nd floor of the rising Trump Soho to his death. The wooden scaffolding he was standing on had collapses.

Is It Time for DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster's resignation?

City-Approved Ways to Destroy History: #47

The current building boom is flattening New York history and flattening New York character is many ways. Some ways are pretty obvious: tear down a beautiful old structure and replace it with a revolting new one. Some are more subtle: neglect a landmark or building of historic character until it become impossible to save it.

And then there's the destruction-by-proxy method. An article in AMNY today points out an example fitting this category. When a building on lower Broadway was recently demolished, it imperiled the existence of a landmarked 1872 cast-iron building at 287 Broadway, corner of Reade, which once stood by its side. The 1872 edifice now has to be propped up by long wooden supports and its tenants have been evacuated.

As David Jaroslawicz, the lawyer for the Yenem Corp., the group that owned a basement diner in the building, wisely observed: "It's only in New York that you build big buildings and no one pays attention to these details. It's like capitalism has taken away humanism."

Too true. I doubt not at all that the Department of Building and the Landmark Preservation Commission do absolutely nothing to ensure the safety and welfare of landmark buildings when new construction begins around and beside them. I don't even believe they have ever even thought of such a thing. Development happens in a vacuum, right? There are no victims; only beneficieries—i.e., the developer.

The DOB and LPC hacks are too stupid and slack-spined and corrupt to even consider that a building, for decades and even centuries buttressed on either side by a fellow structure, might miss that creation of stone and steel should it be removed. Maybe if someone kicked the chair out from a DOB offical, they'd understand the concept.

News on Two Lying City Agencies

The MTA and the Department of Building are not known for being particularly receptive or sympathetic to the needs of the people of this city, unless your name is Robert Scarano or something. Now, it's slowly becoming clear that they're not only unresponsive to public outcry, but actually hostile toward it.

Queens Crap reports today that an e-mail he sent to DOB commissioner Patricia Lancaster—who, it was revealed last week, is fond of cutting under-the-table deals with scofflaw developers—provoked a response from a New York City Police detective. Now, admittedly, QC's missive was a big unhinged; exclamation points and capital letters. But, still, it shows where Lancaster's priorities are. Consider complaint? No. Call cops? Yes.

Meanwhile, The Daily News reports what we all knew long ago: the MTA is wasteful, corrupt and self-rewarding. The agency has several presidents instead of one, and each gets thousands of dollars in housing allowances "even though they're in easy commuting distance from their jobs." The director of the MTA and the seven presidents of the agencies within its purview get more than $1.8 million in salary and deferred compensation. There are many redundant jobs, and the MTA plans to actually add more positions in the future. All at a time when the agency is forcing yet another fare hike on the public.

The News also found a total 112 MTA lawyers with a $12 million payroll. Guess they need all those sharks to fend off the public's constant attacks on the agency's sovereignty.

It's a blistering report. Now, let's see if anything happens. Bloomberg? Spitzer?