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]
Shahn, I shouted myself out. I posted anonymously by accident.
property owner, Viera Novak, and developer Ari Chitrik of O.P. Equities
go brownstoner!
Takes guts to put a post like that up. I am really not sure whether you are right or wrong, but the issue should have been raised and you did that..
I hope that someone actually investigates this guy and throws the book at him if he is liable.
And really someone should revoke his license just because he is building and designing such ugly stuff. Why is putting graffiti illegal but ugly buildings are not?
or is that über?
Gidget, go ahead and mention their name…we all know it.
The Developers Group. Ubber-middle men.
Aptly named…
Heh, I’m now “architect at 11.17 am”. You’re right that being associated with unsafe worksites is bad business. Even though this is a big town (the biggest, right?), the architectural community is not that big, and it is filled with bitter practicioners who love a bit of schadenfreude before another day of being a CAD monkey or holding client hands (e.g., http://gutter.curbed.com/ ). This is certainly not the way to increase your standing with your peers.
But, my sense is that Scarano, whom I’ve never heard of before I began reading Brownstoner, doesn’t really play in the same sandbox as my other peers — that is, he’s decided to work on a different category of project, or perhaps I should say, work with a different category of developer. He’s been smart identifying a category of work and building a practice out of this neglected sector, but at the same time his bread and butter also seems to be people who really put the bottom line before (and I mean WAY before) safety, or, even, aesthetics.
And that’s not smart. In my business, if you’re successful but a hack, you can still go home and count your money. But if you’re a hack without scruples, you’ll only live and work, rise and fall, with others of your ilk — and that sounds pretty sorry to me.
***
But let me reiterate what someone above posted — there is no reason for any workers to die building these little projects. Scarano should think about that as he arranges for counsel.
Did you just shout yourself out lp, or was that someone shouting you out saying it was you?
Hi Anon 11:17, I’m not sure if Scarano hires developers or they hire him…not sure how the process works. I know for a fact, however, that one developers group in particular is very chummy with Scarano. I won’t mention their name!
Architect at 11.17am. Thank you for your post. It helps clarify how these sorts of arrangements can operate, and it obviously varies. I would hope that aside from an legal liability, that moral obligations would in fact make business sense too. Why would you want to be associated with unsafe worksites. Then again, people have a short memory and if it does not affect Scarano’s bottom line, his firm might not take any action. Who knows.