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]
Agree with lp–Scarano is taking money from safety-shy developers, so he is throwing his lot in with a bad crew to begin with. Architects have some responsibility and are asked questions here and there about methods–but, you know, buyers have some responsibility too. Boycott crap–aesthetic crap, moral crap, social crap. Demand more for yourself. And for your money!
Brownstoner,
check your email…
My point above is (and I’m asking a question): In a development project, is it customarily the responsibility of an architect to oversee construction and worksite safety? I don’t know. I suppose the architect should point things out if onsite, but wouldn’t the developer and contractors who are implementing the architectural plans be the ones who look at the plans and decide the most efficient way to construct the building safely? I do not have experience in this so I do not know.
However, even if the architect has no legal liability, if I was in Scarano’s shoes, and if more than one of these deaths happened with the same developer and/or contractor, I would consider not doing business with them in the future from a a reputational risk point of view.
The question is does the architecht have any control over the construction site or safety practices….I dont know the answer but I suspect the answer is no – in which case blaming him is really out of line.
i suspect, but do not know, that mr. scarano took responsibility for the underpinning “controlled inspection” on this job. if so, he’s at least potentially liable for any failure. 2ndly, it’s not at all uncommon on his jobs for there to be underpinning issues–it’s NOT purely coincidence, and it all can’t be blamed on the GC
Killed in construction was uncommon in New York City until recently–hasn’t it occurred to you that the deaths and accidents that make headlines aren’t on high-rise buildings or inherently dangerous sites but on smaller developments? The mad rush to make money endangers the lives of the poorest people in the real estate food chain–immigrant workers. Nobody should be killed building a two-family house or small apartment building in this city. Brownstoner, thank you for taking a stand on this issue. Simple work safety methods that have been used for decades have been tossed to the wind, and every party to this Dickensian process should be held responsible. If the letter of the law were followed, these guys would be going home on the subway and not in a body bag. Bending rules, looking the other way, not insisting on proper methods and–worst of all and SHAME on the city–deciding to pay a few piddling fines for violations are killing people. And if the construction oversight is so lax guys are dying, what kind of quality do you suppose results? Go Brownstoner!
Wait, 3 people is quite a number – since killed (not just injured) in construction accident is not commmon.
And Scarano may have plenty of items on his web site….many long completed,
many not even started and may never come to fruition, and just a handful currently under construction.
Although you may not want to blame him for the deaths…. it does show he has an extensive working relationship and quite willing to work with developers/contractors who do not play by the book and willing to sacrifice safety for bucks.
Architects certainly are partly overseeing the construction and a real mentch of an architect would be reporting the builders to the city instead of being complacent.
I’m with ya, Brownstoner. My feeling is that the architect, developer, and contracter should ALL be responsible for these situations. It’s easy for each of them to blame the other, but they are all in it together. I can understand the postings of the folks who disagree with Brownstoner, but someone needs to be responsible instead of all the finger pointing.
BTW, I had noticed that last night Scarano’s colored lights that usually decorate his office in DUMBO were not lit…
Brownstoner. I love your site and usually agree with most of your opinions posted here. However, I query whether an architect on a development project really has the responsibility over the safety of the worksite. I’m not an architect btw. Wouldn’t it normally be the case that a developer would approach Scarano and say I would like develop a certain site and then look at some of Scarano’s proposals? If Scarano worked with a developer that regularly had safety issues, then I can see your point (not that legal liability would necessarilly flow through to Scarano, but perhaps he would not want to be involved in such projects from a reputational point of view – plus I doubt that he would want his architecture to be built in a shoddy manner). However, without knowing all of the facts, I think it is premature to call out Scarano on this. It may be that in each case it was a different developer and different contractor, which would not necessarilly be a pattern but might in fact be three unfortunate accidents. The contractor might be at fault, but that doesn’t mean Scarano was simply turning a blind eye. Maybe look into who the contractors/developers are and then petition them?