Plumbers Association Sues DOB Over Atlantic Yards Pre-Fab Tower Construction

Two industry associations, The Mechanical Contractors Association and The Plumbing Foundation, have sued the city, specifically the Department of Buildings, claiming that the agency has wrongly allowed Forest City Ratner to circumvent building codes in its use of prefab construction to erect the first Atlantic Yards tower, several news outlets reported. The units are partly preassembled at the Navy Yard and then delivered to the building site, at the corner of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue. Spokespeople for Ratner and the city disputed the suit. The factory workers are union labor overseen by a licensed engineer, and they do not attach plumbing or electrical systems, according to Forest City Ratner. “The units are then delivered to the building and installed, and all plumbing connections are made by licensed plumbers,” said a spokesman quoted in the Daily News. The city said code requires “a licensed tradesman” to install plumbing and fire suppression systems only at the building site, not elsewhere. The lawsuit could potentially delay the completion of the first building, which was supposed to happen by next summer, said the Daily News.

Ratner’s Prefab Atlantic Yards Tower Not up to Code: Suit [NY Daily News]
Building-Trades Suit Over Prefab Brooklyn Tower [NY Post]
Ratner’s Prefab Atlantic Yards Tower Not up to Code: Suit [TRD]
Lawsuit Aims to Reverse DOB Approval of Forest City’s Cost-Saving Modular Plan [AYR]