In an editorial yesterday generally praising Mayor Bloomberg for his long-term thinking about the city’s infrastructure, Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin points out one of the areas where Bloomie has taken his eye off the ball–construction.

[If he listens], he’ll learn about architects and builders who thumb their noses at his Buildings Department, especially outside Manhattan. The agency acts more like an ambulance service than a regulating body. It only seems to show up when there is a disaster, which helps explain why nearly 100 workers have been killed in construction accidents since October 2001, according to federal statistics compiled by my colleague Brian Kates. Every time a worker falls from scaffolding onto a street or into a vat of concrete, count on the Buildings Department to show up and say, yep, there were safety violations. No kidding.

C’mon, Mikey!
A City Plan with Room to Grow [Brownstoner]
Sara Goldsmith