Shelly Silver And His Shady Control Over The LMDC

There has been plenty to gripe about when it comes to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The way he controls every single Democratic member in the State House, how contributions flow in from groups he rewards by killing key legislation (see: congestion pricing) and his special skills of causing gridlock in Albany. Well, it seems he is also good at using state agencies known for not doing much at all to help his pet projects around the Lower Manhattan district he calls home.

From The NY Post:

In the last two years, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has shelled out nearly $12 million to many of the same community and cultural groups that Silver has steered pork money to, an analysis by The Post has found.

"The allocations look more like [Silver's] 'member items' these days," fumed an LMDC board member, using the Albany term for pet pork projects.

Yeah I know, I'm going off the Post here but Silver's actions are worth it. It is Democrats like him that cling to the old ways (or present) where patronage and pay to play politics rules and the best decisions for the people of New York are thrown to the wayside. It is hard to deny that a higher percentage of the LMDC's money is going to the places Silver wants and has nothing to do with developing Lower Manhattan in any kind of prudent manner.

Now the programs that are getting money aren't all bad by any means. Many of them have worthy objectives. Yet the mission of the LMDC was to help rebuild the area after 9/11 and as almost in NY government has made clear, the Corporation should be shutdown precisely because it wasn't doing it's job (not to mention being a part of the deaths of the two firefighters in the Deutsche Bank Bldg.). At the moment, it is only doing the job of providing pork for Shelly Silver.

Will The City Get Off In Deutsche Bank Bldg. Investigation?

It has been well over a year since the Deutsche Bank Building erupted into flames while being dismantled. The negligence of so many contributed to the deaths of two firefighters that day in August. Now, as the investigation wraps up, plenty of small fish will go down for their actions, but not everyone. DA Morganthau has been busy since the probe started, but in the end the city will likely get off scot free. If that pisses you off, imagine how the families of the victims feel.

From The NY Daily News:

More than a year later, none of the agencies that were supposed to inspect the tower - including the Fire Department and the Department of Buildings - will be directly implicated, the sources said.

The Graffagnino family's lawyer, John Meringolo, said he still hopes prosecutors "will indict in the interests of justice all culpable parties, no matter how big or how small."

Beddia's sister, Barbara Beddia Crocco, was "devastated" when told this week Morgenthau had decided not to pursue charges the city and state agencies or the general contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, family lawyer Michael Barasch said.

And when called for comment, the DA's office immediately goes for the defensive position.

Dan Castleman, Morgenthau's top deputy, called The News story "premature" and declined to further comment.

The DN highlighted another source that the city has "soverign immunity" which supposedly allows the city to get away with anything because the charges were brought up in the city. So my question is, why not simply go to the next level and make sure that everyone gets the justice they deserve?

Problems Still Ongoing At Deutsche Bank Bldg

With the 7th anniversary of September 11th fast-approaching, there are still many eye-sores in and around Ground Zero. None is worse than the former Deutsche Bank building, or what is left of it. Those in charge claim it will be taken down by next summer, but with the web of deceit surrounding the operation, who knows when it will truly be done. As you recall, last summer two firefighters lost their lives because of lax supervision of workers who smoked on the job while dealing with hazardous materials. What is worse though, was that FDNY itself did not properly inspect the site and the fact that the water pipes that were meant to fight fires were disconnected and in some places, missing.

After the tragedy occurred politicians and administrators vowed to clean things up, while trying to fend off an independent investigation. Well it turns out that fault lay with many different people and agencies connected to the Deutsche mess. Even with that dirty laundry laid out for all to see, some of the same problems that led to the fatal fire still exist to this day.

From The NY Daily News:

Empty cigarette packs and beer cans were found on several floors last week, triggering a full-tilt probe by fire marshals, two sources familiar with the investigation told the Daily News.

"It is shameful that they would be smoking there. It is a shameful act," FDNY spokesman Jim Long said. "We will take the necessary actions to prevent any further incident."

Joseph Graffagnino Sr., whose son, Joseph Jr., died in the Deutsche Bank fire, said the new revelation was appalling.

"It makes me feel like I want to puke," he said. "They just don't care. They are back to the same old business as usual attitude, which is not the way things should be done."

So 13 months later we still have the same tough talk from the FDNY but obviously no real change to speak of. Why is it that the victim's family still have to complain about the unsafe conditions that led to their loved ones' death last year? The report was a good first step in the direction of accountability. But until those responsible for the tragedy and the unsafe conditions that exist to this day are given their fair share of justice, this is matter will be far from over.

2.2 Million Excuses And Counting

That is the amount of money that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is spending (along with the city) to retain outside legal help in the aftermath of the Deutsche Bank Building fire. More than six months after the blaze that claimed the lives of two firefighters, much remains to be answered. The funds are being used to help those that are being targeted by D.A. Robert Morganthau which sounds normal, but where are the funds coming from?

From The NY Times:

Michael Murphy, a spokesman for the development agency, said it would seek to recover the costs of the outside legal counsel through insurance policies on the project, and through claims stemming from its contract with Bovis.

But other potential costs — and more work for the outside lawyers — loom.

As the Times points out, those costs include lawsuits from the victims' families and ultimately more legal fees. Regardless, Murphy says that the money could possibly come from the insurance companies but are they really going to part with millions in compensation? Out of all the experience I've had with recovering insurance money....I'm going to take a small leap and deduce that the taxpayers of New York will ultimately pay for the legal fees and especially for the demolition. Unless of course someone can convince me otherwise.

Demolishing The Deutsche Bank Bldg. Once And For All?

Before you know it six and a half years will have gone by since the tragedy of 9/11. While the foundations are being poured for the new towers on the site, the crippled Deutsche Bank building still stands, at least twenty-six stories of it anyways. It is a toxic mess that proved its danger in the fire last August that killed two firefighters. Soon after the fire the LMDC fired the subcontractor doing the demolition. Now the famed Las Vegas imploder LVI Environmental Services will be stepping up.

From The Daily News:

LVI is joining the on-again, off-again effort to raze the building - originally 40 stories and deconstructed to the 26th floor at the time of the fire - as a subcontractor to Bovis Lend Lease, which has overall charge of the project. The bank building was damaged by the 9/11 terror attacks and then left exposed to the elements.

"Bovis is pleased that the deconstruction will recommence shortly in a time and manner that is responsible and safe," Bovis spokeswoman Mary Costello said.

LVI is best known for the spectacular implosions of such outmoded Las Vegas Strip stalwarts as the Sands, Aladdin, Castaways, El Rancho and Desert Inn. In March last year, it leveled the 32-story Stardust Casino.

Of course they will not be imploding the building, Lower Manhattan is a bit more dense than the towers that are laid far apart from each other on the Las Vegas strip. I think we have had enough of that type of stuff in the area to last many, many lifetimes.

LMDC's Excuses Are Coming Out Of Your Pocket

A chunk of what you pay to the state of New York is going to go the defense of LMDC. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is a state agency that is being probed for criminal negligence due to two firefighters deaths in August when the old bank building was ablaze. They died because they were trapped with no water because the standpipe they were to rely on was deliberately cut. Now the LMDC is spending a million dollars of our state's money to defend themselves.

From Newsday:

The Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s board on Thursday approved the contract with Dechert LLP to represent the state rebuilding agency in probes into the blaze at the former Deutsche Bank tower. It was among $10.4 million in expenses approved to continue the cleanup and dismantling of the 26-story tower just across from the World Trade Center site.

The Manhattan district attorney's office and the state attorney general's office are investigating the fire at the partially dismantled, contaminated building, which officials have blamed on a construction worker's tossed cigarette.

But the probes have focused on oversight for the LMDC-owned tower, which had no fire plan; a deliberately cut standpipe that hampered firefighting efforts in the blaze; and the selection process for contractors and subcontractors.

The inaction of LMDC is telling enough of how they cared for the safety in that damaged building. Instead of confessing to the obvious, LMDC and the city are trying their best to escape blame by throwing taxpayer dollars to attorneys that might or might not get them off from being held responsible. This is a cowardly act to say the least. Both the LMDC and city agencies should quit this crap and stand up to be held accountable. Those two dead firefighters and their families deserve as much.

Deconstructing The Deutsche Bank Again

The EPA and the LMDC came to an agreement yesterday on how to temporarily proceed with plans to demolish the rest of the Deutsche Bank building on 130 Liberty. More than six years after it was damaged by the 9/11 attacks, it still stands there with what looks like giant fishnets on its sides. The EPA publicly condemned the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. for its lack of safety and concern for those that work and live in the downtown area. The lapses in safety ultimately led to two firefighters losing their lives last month when a fire broke out in the hulking abandoned mess of a building.

There have been a lot of financial problems that contributed to the problems at 130 Liberty St. Insurance money did not come in at first, the federal government under George Bush did next to nothing and still to this day does not adequately fund New York City for what happened in 2001.

Avi Schick is now the head of the LMDC which was charged with taking down the Bank building earlier this year after Spitzer was inaugurated. To his credit, he has only been there a few months despite the fire occurring during his watch. Still, that building should have been inspected up and down. Since it wasn't, debris in the stairwells and a non-existent water system indirectly killed two brave souls of the FDNY.

The criminal investigation is still in its preliminary stages, but that does not mean we should just slowly forget about it and let them publish a slap on the wrist in a Friday news dump sometime next year. Someone is going to be held accountable for their (in)actions whether they like it or not.