Another Death on a Scarano-Certified Site
When does coincidence become a pattern? That’s the question Robert Scarano should be asking himself this morning. Manipulating building codes and giving the finger to entire communities is one thing; being consistently involved as a certifying architect in projects where workers are injured or killed is another. With news yesterday of Anthony Duncan being crushed…
When does coincidence become a pattern? That’s the question Robert Scarano should be asking himself this morning. Manipulating building codes and giving the finger to entire communities is one thing; being consistently involved as a certifying architect in projects where workers are injured or killed is another. With news yesterday of Anthony Duncan being crushed by a collapsing wall on a worksite at 733 Ocean Parkway, the Scarano-related death count reached three (207 South 1st and 187 20th Street). We know what he will say (in all capital letters, no doubt): It’s the fault of the developer (O.P. Equities) and the contractor (A-1 Construction Expo), not mine. Okay, we might be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in any one isolated incident. What about when it happens twice? Three times?
Even if he has no legal culpability (which we are not in the position to judge), we hope this latest catastrophe will at the very least make Mr. Scarano do a better job of picking his partners. At a certain point, it’s like being the grown up who leaves a loaded gun out on the table and then says it’s not his fault when a child shoots himself. Mr. Scarano, you must have made enough money that you can stop whoring hiring yourself out to bottom-of-the-barrel clients who cut every corner they can. Please, stop enabling their irresponsible and dangerous behavior. How can you sleep at night?
Worker in Brooklyn Dies as Wall Falls [NY Times]
Brooklyn Worker Killed [NY Post]
Construction Worker Killed in Collapse [NY1]
733 Ocean Parkway DOB Application [NYC DOB]
Comments on 207 South 1st Death [Brownstoner]
i agree with NYC developer, however, the architect – in this case Scarano- as stated on a previous blog is responsible for the underpinning inspection, (As per his DOB application). Unless he had and officer reviewing the underpinning process he was negligent to this requirement, which makes him liable. Accidents occur, however the pre-established safety measures imposed by the city agencies are being ignored.
THANKS, NYC Developer. you’re the first developer i’ve ever heard of who IS NOT blaming the architect. kudos to you for clarifying (and pointing out) general ignorance. ultimately, the architect is not hiring (or paying for) the contractor and is not responsible for the methods of construction. and to clarify, as an architect, i worked on a very large job ($140 million) where there was an arsonist on the job site causing general havoc, and at one point on this job the 40 story crane collapsed. don’t even tell me any of that was the fault of the architect. ultimately, it lies with the contractor for A) hiring someone with a dubious background, and B) unsafely installing a crane. just remember that contractors are licensed by the state as well, and have safety standards to uphold. the architect is not on the job site 24/7, and for that matter may not even be contractually obligated to be on the job site at all. generally, the site foreman (hired by the GC) is responsible for overseeing safety unless an outside safety consultant is hired by the GC or owner.
NYC Developer (or any architects reading this): your point is taken, but the architect still has an inspection role during construction, no? Isn’t the architect responsible for controlled inspections during the course of construction?
Separately (perhaps), what role does the project’s engineer have in the process? In this case, retaining walls were being erected and (presumably) a foundation being laid. Is that typically done off the architect’s plans or is an engineer involved.
Obviously, none of us know the details in this particular case, but I’m curious as to “standard” practice.
I just wanted to clarify the development process for the people on this site. A developer is the entity who finds and aquires a site. He then hires an architect, in this case Scarano, who designs the building and create the construction documents. At his point the developer goes out and hires a general contractor (GC), who hires the subcontractors. The GC is in charge of all construction matters, including saftey on site. Scarano, while he may be able to recommend contractors and consultants, ultimately has no say in it, as it it the developers choice who to hire. It is completely unfair and ignorant to blame the architect, unless there was something unsafe in his contrcution documents, for accidents that occur on site during the construction process.
lol Shahn. Wasn’t what I meant to do in this case, that’s why I said it was me.
It’s cool lp, I post anonymously to support my own arguments all of the time… 😛
All this talk about who’s to blame and to what extent is axactly why these vultures are allowed to continue killing people. Each one- Architect, Developer, Conmtractor, DOB, Police etc. will say that it is someone else’s responsability. They are all Culpable. As long as they can keep the finger pointing going around and around then they just keep making money and no one is ever held to the Fire. What is most telling about this whole sorbid affair is that had these same circumstances existed on a Union Job, you can bet that there would be people being hauled off to prison and all over the front page, in hand cuffs. These so called developments involve many more Questionable issues, but they are allowed to stay just below the radar , and given a free ride by the press and our City agencies.
It’s time these Vultures were held to the same standards as the rest of the working class (that includes the Union men and women who have built this City)
anon 12:20, yes, professional negligence can translate into murder and should. my friend is an architect and she told me of a case they studied in school (that was 15 years ago) where a jury found an architect to be guilty and sent him to prison for murder. it happened in england where an architect used a structural material (don’t remember what) around a swimming pool that reacted with the chlorine bleach and the building collapsed years later, killing countless.
besides, isn’t it customary for architect to charge a 10-15% fee based on cost of construction? if that is the case here, then in my not so humble opinion, scarano should be accountable.
Anon @12:20 – strictly for academic sense (since it has no relevance here) possibly (I am sure it has never been applied that way and never will – FYI Depraved Indifference murder has been under attack recently by appeals courts and its viability is under some question) – that disclaimer aside, technically any negligence that-
is imminently dangerous and presents a very high risk of death which a jury finds is ‘so wanton, so deficient in moral sense and concern, so devoid of regard for the life or lives of others, as to equal in blameworthiness intentional conduct’
could be basis for murder 2 charge and conviction.