Brooklyn architect and developer Robert Scarano, whose many projects have come under Department of Buildings' scrutiny in the past for safety and zoning violations, was charged with allegedly making "false or misleading statements on applications submitted" to the DOB for two buildings. From the press release:The administrative charges are in connection with documents for two Brooklyn apartment houses that Scarano filed with the Buildings Department in 2000 and 2002. Scarano is alleged to have improperly......

The Bronx DA's office says an 83-year-old engineer lied about using steel in a building that caught fire and collapsed and left two firefighters dead in 2006. Jose Vargas, who pleaded not guilty, was arraigned in court yesterday. The three-alarm fire broke out at a 99-cent store on Walton Avenue on August 27, 2006; the building's roof and first floor collapsed, killing Lieutenant Howard Carpluk Jr. and firefighter Michael Reilly. Vargas, who signed inspection papers......

Architect Robert Scarano, who has been charged with violating city building standards at 32 properties, has an ally at the Department of Buildings. The Daily News is reporting that Patricia Lancaster, the department's commissioner, hid Scarano's mistakes, signing a stipulation in which she promised not to report Scarano to any regulatory agency that could revoke his license. The News article is part of its I-Team Special Investigation unit. Reporter Brian Kates explains that Lancaster promised......

Kudos to The Real Deal for coaxing DUMBO-based designer Robert Scarano out of the shadows. One of the city's most reviled architects, Scarano has been scrutinized by Department of Buildings for his safety and zoning violations. Following a summer outcry, the agency issued stop-work orders on some Scarano sites. He's even being investigated by the NYS Department of Education, which oversees licensed architects, but there is currently no record of disciplinary action. Overseeing a whopping......

City Councilman Bill de Blasio, whose Brooklyn district covers Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, is asking the Department of Buildings to stop all of architect Robert Scarano's current projects. According to the Sun, DeBlasio says Scarano, who has hundreds of projects in various stages of progress, "should not be allowed to build while under investigation by the State Education Department for professional misconduct." It seems that one part of misconduct claim might due to the fact......

-- Bwog has some advice for socially-retarded freshman entering Columbia. Of course, any list of advice that contains "DO read the Iliad," may not be worth reading! -- Yowzers: Queens Councilmember John Liu really is EVERYWHERE. -- Are we the only ones excited about the Gin Blossoms playing live tonight at the Apple Store? Surprisingly, that's the biggest venue they've played since 1994! -- Famed DUMBO architect Robert Scarano to anonymous critic: "Don't degrad......

We've been itching for a good tenant/developer fight and today's City Section delivers enter: Scarano v. The Orchid Man! The story is simple. Steve Ludlow loves orchids and lives with a large number of them in a very large loft in Dumbo. The building they live in has recently been bought and the new owners want to put in 60 condos and a new tower. Naturally they also want Ludlow out. But the Orchid......

- Looking at the this years tax returns for the folks who would be Governor. - That mother who pimped her daughters? Yeah, she now refuses to speak to them saying she pities their John, a father-of-six attorney. - After its owner had fallen off and died, the Ghost Bike continued riding down the LIE... - Howell Raines wants you to know: His new book is about sport fishing and the "unpredictability of luck."......