Markowitz Calls Out DOB on Enforcement
In a letter to DOB deputy commish Robert LiMandri last week, Borough Prez Marty Markowitz expressed concern at the agency’s failure to adequately police the architects, developers and contractors during the building boom of recent years. “It is imperative that the agency staff view not just the construction industry as their client base, but view…
In a letter to DOB deputy commish Robert LiMandri last week, Borough Prez Marty Markowitz expressed concern at the agency’s failure to adequately police the architects, developers and contractors during the building boom of recent years. “It is imperative that the agency staff view not just the construction industry as their client base, but view with equal importance the responsibility of protecting public interest,” wrote Markowitz. “I call on every city agency charged with the monitoring and enforcement of construction rules and standards to work with my office, so that legally mandated construction schedules are followed and violators are fined heavily, to ensure the continued safety and quality of life all Brooklynites deserves.”
No Cheers in Markowitz Letter to DOB [FG Courier]
“Only a dictatorship of artists can bring beauty and order to our increasingly chaotic and mediocre world.”
An who would these visionaries be, one wonders?
Or am I just being “selfish?”
brownstone was the vinyl siding of that day. okay maybe not but.
Then why were block after block of beautiful brownstones built in NYC during the Victorian era – which was the same time as the robber barons – which defined greedy capitalism until maybe the 80’s produced even more extreme examples.
And it was Julius Caesar who made Rome beautiful. Before he became dictator, the city was a mass of ugly brick buildings. When he was killed, he left it a marble palace.
Democracy and representative government goes hand in hand with decadence, artistic corruption, and general ugliness.
The problem here is most people are selfish and care only to satisfy their base desires. If they have food and a roof over their head, they are happy.
Only a dictatorship of artists can bring beauty and order to our increasingly chaotic and mediocre world.
Markowitz just gave Scarano an award a few months ago, but now he’s shocked, shocked at poor oversight by the DOB. All we need is for Yassky to chime in here. Go on to
New Orleans, lads, where politicians of your caliber have free rein to destroy cities wholesale.
Meryckawick- what kind of solution is that? The current system encourages cheating so just ignore everything and do what you want? Great- so when the building you advocated being built in defiance of the DOB, collapses or yet another construction worker dies, that’s ok with you because some “brave” developer decided to forge ahead? The better solution is to fix the problem, not make it a thousand times worse.
Let’s get real here. DOB is a badly managed place. But a big part of the problem is that they have so much work to do and no extra funding. And whassup with all the wise guys who are constantly calling 311 just to bug their neighbors. Enough already with that. Just bogs down the system. DOB keeps having to come out to examine bogus complaints by people who can’t even be bothered to read the displayed permit. One time a neighbor of mine called to complain that my house was falling down because the neighbor on the other side of him was doing work that was annoying him. Hello, if my house is falling down please give me a shout first, not 311. Or dial 911 if it’s an emergency instead. Thank you busy body neighbors.
And of course the DOB is not even charged with any kind of aesthetic review. In NYC there IS no aesthetic review. A neighborhood is either Landmarked, which some might find over-zealous, or it is ANYTHING GOES. If the “public interest” is really to be served, there needs to be a new construction planning board or community board that reviews not only safety, but aesthetic quality. The current Butt Ugly Building Boom (BUBB) would not be abated by the DOB following its current rules. Meanwhile, many parts of NYC and Brooklyn are being turned into “luxury condo” cheap-ass ghettos. (Please Note: NOTHING to do with low-income housing, so lets not go there) It’s obvious the current crop of developers and “architects” operate on a very short sighted ROI. So Marty, how about calling on developers, from your pal Ratner all the way down to the local 4-family “Fedders” developer, to stop building all this horrendous crap in Brooklyn. And isn’t there somebody, a politician or city development person, or ??? that can stop Brooklyn from being raped?
I’m with you JP. The current system encourages cheating. The only way to get anything done is to flout DOB rules and plow ahead.