June 14, 2008
DOB Revokes Permit of March's Crane Collapse Site
Photograph from East 51st Street by gattogrosso212 at flickr
The East 51st Street condominium site where a crane collapsed into buildings--completely leveling a townhouse and killing seven--had its construction permit revoked. A month after the March 15 collapse, it was revealed plans for the 43-story building should never have been approved by the Department of Buildings (it's possible revised plans could still have been approved), so the developer James Kennelly was asked to resubmit plans.
However, the recent changes failed to "resolve zoning violations". Apparently the revised plans only addressed "seven of more than 30 objections"; remaining issues include building layout and balcony positioning, according to the Daily News. Kennelly can now either appeal the decision or apply for a new permit.
And on Thursday, a court order was filed to keep the collapsed crane at the fatal East 91st Street crane collapse site as evidence. Donald Leo Sr., father of crane operator Donald Leo Jr. who died in the collapse, revealed, "I have some knowledge of the Kodiak tower crane that killed my son, because while he and my [other] son Shawn were away with friends for Donald's bachelor party, I covered [for him] at the site." He accused the crane's owner James Lomma of buying the crane for cheap because it had been discontinued. Lomma denied the charges, telling the Post, "Nothing is true, you guys write what you want."
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How dare the city take this action. The rights of developers should Trump the rights of all others. Construction accidents are the price we pay for progress. And progress comes in the form of giant glass boxes built for and occupied by Europeans. If only Bloomberg could run for a third term...
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Let's not blame the Mayor for this type of tragedy, he inherited a system of corrupted officials. His advisors probably told him to back off, the unions and the real estate families are owed for their generous support. What happened is the loss of life and that brought it into the spotlight.
The next step is to fire the inspectors and go after the union guys and make that industry safe for the building trade grunts and the people that live and work near construction sites.
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There should be a moratorium on all current and future construction until all plans can be re-examined for compliance.
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The plans not following the zoning regulations had no effect on the crane accidents. Whether a building is 500 ft high or 200 feet high has nothing to do with the nylon strap or bad welds. And even if you re-examine the plans... what makes you think you'll get a different result with the same people looking at them for a second time?
Firing the inspectors will do no good unless the city finds a way of recruiting more qualified inspectors. You get what you pay for.
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You're not following the stories. Neither the article nor my comment mentions anything about the safety of the cranes being the reason for the permit being revoked. But it does spotlight the continuing problem of massive abuse of the self-certification process by architects who know that the city probably won't catch them. 80% non-compliance in the plans that were reviewed. 80%! That's not just a few plans here and there that slipped through. That's why all plans need to be re-examined. It's not about what may or may not be safe, but whether you want to let crooked architects and builders finish or even start buildings that DOB would never have approved. The "same people" wouldn't be looking at them a "second time" because they never looked at them a first time.