Brooklyn B-Scan: 13,962 Documents and Counting
As you may recall, the Department of Buildings launched a new initiative last Spring to store and make accessible all the paperwork it receives as part of the construction permitting process. (This is no small matter: The department receives over 300,000 pages of paper every month.) The program launched in Staten Island back on April…
As you may recall, the Department of Buildings launched a new initiative last Spring to store and make accessible all the paperwork it receives as part of the construction permitting process. (This is no small matter: The department receives over 300,000 pages of paper every month.) The program launched in Staten Island back on April 30, expanded to the Bronx on June 25 and kicked into gear in Brooklyn on July 30. Since then, according to a source at the DOB, the Brooklyn Borough Office has scanned 13,962 documents, representing 2,311 jobs. Through last Friday, 1,186 permits had been issued for these jobs. How does it work? If you check out the file for 659 45th Street, for example, you’ll see a menu item called “Virtual Job Folder.” In this case, opening that folder yields nine scanned documents, including a couple of work permit applications, an asbestos exemption certification letter and a professional certification statement. Neato.
Job #310002886 Doc#1 [DOB]
I agree. I have to admit that I have been one of the biggest complainers about the DOB. BUT I have never been in favor of much of the changes that have now taken place. Like anything else they make changes to address the issues and complaints of the community but what they don’t ever do is actually change the prevailing attitude. That being that more money, laws and paper work will fix everything. In fact the more laws, paperwork etc that they pass will only ends up hurting those who have been most effected and least protected. The fact is (and this holds true for everything from gun control to child services to the destruction of our quality of life for the sake of development) all they ever had to do was enforce the laws that were always in effect.
Each time we complain about something the answer is to create an even bigger bureaucracy with even more layers to sift through and less transparency (the only thing that is more transparent is what WE do) and finally at a much higher cost to the tax payers.
Thanks for nothing!
Great – on top of my address, loan amount and house plans, my signature becomes digitized. Doesn’t this just invite fraud?