The horror story of the Atlantic Yards project consistently makes the local news and blog scene. Yet AY is one huge example of a city-wide problem where developers are consistently favored over residents. The Buildings Department is in disrepair while residents' complaints go mostly unnoticed. Fines and violations may be sent to developers who mess up, but the enforcement does nothing to curb the abuse that residents endure every year.
From The Daily News:
Typical was an e-mail from Ed Jaworski, vice president of the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association in Brooklyn.
His group "has generated a construction Dumpster's worth of correspondence [to] Community Board 15, to the Board of Standards and Appeals, even to the mayor's office," Jaworski wrote. "We've spent thousands of hours in meetings and on the phone. But building and zoning regulations are being manipulated to change the character of neighborhoods, house by house, block by block."
Ann Marie Amodeo wrote that an unscrupulous developer undermined the foundation of her mother's house on 70th St. in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, damaging the wall and ruining the backyard when he demolished a building next door.
"Calls and formal complaints to the Buildings Department had little result," she wrote. "Under threat of a lawsuit, this builder eventually purchased my mother's house, but refused to pay market price."
The Department claims that they are adding more inspectors and already vigorously inspect housing, but those statements come from spokeswoman Kate Lindquist who's only interest is PR, not actual progress. The Daily News' story was backed up by many in the building community:
Bronx-based carpenter T.J. O'Connor wrote: "If the Department of Buildings exercised their power to not only issue violations but to enforce stop-work orders until fines are paid, the revenue collected from unscrupulous developers could be put toward hiring the needed inspectors."Several readers added to the litany of complaints about the shoddy practices of architects and engineers who falsely certify that their work complies with building regulations and zoning codes.
But master plumber Robert Mengler mentioned another disturbing wrinkle.
"Master plumbers are also allowed to self-certify their work," he wrote. "There are certain licensed plumbers that have made lots of money by renting out their licenses. . . . The chances of this work being inspected is very, very, very low."
Now that is just wrong, pure and simple. Bloomberg needs to come down hard on developers and fix the bureaucracy in the Buildings Department that allows these messes to pile up. The way the system is currently set up allows these scum to take advantage of residents that stand in the way of their profits. And that has to be turned on its head.
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