Despite Strides, Not Everyone Happy with the DOB

Although construction site tragedies like the one yesterday in Clinton Hill and the death a few weeks ago at Trump Soho have led some to renew calls for reform at the Department of Buildings—the most strident so far has come from Councilman/mayoral candidate Tony Avella, who wants DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster to resign—the department just released a report detailing stepped-up vigilance. The report notes that far fewer building applications are being professionally certified (or signed off on by an agent of the developer rather than the DOB), with the number of professionally certified applications for new buildings decreasing by 32.7 percent from this time last year. DOB inspectors are also issuing more violations: The number of violation citations rose from 11,979 to 12,332 between the first half of fiscal year ’07 and the first half of this fiscal year. Although the DOB is clearly trying to clean up its act, there’s widespread dissatisfaction with its operations. An excellent article in City Limits examines the matter, and the general consensus among building professionals and politicians is that the DOB needs more funding and construction workers need more training. The story quotes Louis Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers’ Association, who says, DOB has always been reactive…They need more resources.
BREAKING: Worker Killed at 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
Trying to Make it Safer to Do a Dangerous Job [City Limits]
Photo by Tracy Collins