Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Bloomberg Criticizes Department of Buildings

By KIRSTEN DANIS
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

A big upswing in deadly construction accidents - including a terrifying Midtown crane collapse - has Mayor Bloomberg taking a new hard look at the problem-plagued Department of Buildings.

In an unusual public admission, Bloomberg said today he is not happy with the department.

"I don't think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings performance," the mayor said during an appearance at the city's 311 call center in lower Manhattan.

"Whether they've done everything they can or not is something that I'm looking at," the mayor continued.

There have been a dozen fatal construction accidents in the first half of the year, compared to the same number last year, the mayor said.

A citywide building boom may be leading to more accidents, but "that's not an excuse," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg, who prides himself on loyalty, generally defends agencies and their commissioners even after major mishaps.

Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster stunned the City Council last week when she conceded that a 43-story tower where a crane collapse killed seven people last month should never have gone up.

That news came on the heels of the revelation that a crane inspector allegedly signed off on the crane without ever looking at it. The inspector was arrested five says after the March 15 accident.

2 comments:

  1. Mayor Mike: It is time to bring in some experts to run the New York City DOB.

    You tried but failed, let's get it done before you leave office.

    Work safe and take care of each other.

    Old timers take the time to teach the young kids on the job site.

    ReplyDelete
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