Galt Co. Continues To Profit After Deutsche Bank Indictment

It is absolutely sickening that events transpired the way they did in the Deutsche Bank building fire and subsequent deaths of two firefighters. There was plenty of blame to go around, to the Fire Department, the City, LMDC and the contractors. The John Galt Co., which is being held primarily responsible for the tragedy, especially after being kicked out of the demolition site and their eventual indictment. Yet, justice isn't that simple here in NYC and a few tricks by Galt President Greg Blinn shows how easy it is to get around such things as the deaths of Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino.

From The NY Daily News:

The company quickly became a target of a criminal probe. On Dec. 22, Galt was indicted on manslaughter charges in the deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino.

All of this has had little effect on Galt's president, Greg Blinn. Another of his companies, Regional Scaffolding, is still working at the Deutsche Bank and other public works projects across the city.[...]

After the fire, the agency barred Regional from future contracts, said spokesman Mark Daly.

The state has taken no such action with Regional. Ten months after the Deutsche Bank fire, the NYPD gave Regional a $4,700 contract to fix a sidewalk in front of a Bronx precinct.

Its nice that some agencies have realized the crooks they are dealing with and taken appropriate action, but obviously many have not. It is unacceptable that Galt and anyone associated with the negligence at the infamous site be allowed to work on any public project. Those who are culpable deserve jail time, not a state or city check.

Mayor Nods Off At Memorial For FDNY Who Died At Bank Bldg

Mayor Bloomberg showed up to give a speech at Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia's memorial this week, but to call his appearance there respectful would be way off the mark. The two men lost their lives fighting a fire at the partially de-constructed Deutsche Bank building last year. With blame for the incident being thrown all over the city, you'd think that everyone would try to be on their best behavior, especially at the memorial service...but not Mayor Bloomberg.

From The Downtown Express:

One more thing that Bloomberg could have done was to pay attention to the speeches Monday morning in Graffagnino and Beddia’s honor. A female friend of Graffagnino’s family nudged this reporter during the speeches and gestured toward Bloomberg, who sat facing the rows of family members.

“He’s sleeping!” the woman whispered indignantly.

And, indeed, Bloomberg did appear to have briefly dozed off. His chin was angled toward his chest, listing to the side. His eyes were closed. The friend, who did not want to give her name, said Bloomberg had been nodding off throughout the ceremony. A freelance photographer also noticed Bloomberg’s catnap, which she said lasted for about 15 seconds. A round of applause soon startled him to his feet.

Jason Post, a Bloomberg spokesperson, said Bloomberg was not asleep.

“It’s a little strange,” the Graffagnino friend later said of the ceremony, “what with city being at such fault for what happened…. And then to have the mayor sleeping during it, that’s…”

Disrespectful?

“Quite,” she said.

I'd love to see a picture of the Mayor dozing while family and friends paid their respects to Beddia and Graffagnino, but I'll believe a friend of the family over a Bloomberg official any day of the week.

One Year Later And All They Get Is A Memorial

Today is the one year anniversary of the tragic Deutsche Bank Building fire that claimed the lives of two of New York's Bravest. The two men, Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia will be memorialized at their firehouse in SoHo. Yet besides that, not much is being done about what happened that terrible day.

Oh sure, safety has improved, don't get me wrong on that. The New York Post tells us all about it and that the godforsaken building will probably stand for another year. What I am ticked off about is getting justice for them. It wasn't just one negligent construction worker that set up these conditions, it was the whole damn city.

From The NY Daily News:

"The issue of fire watch and reviewing the fire watch was extremely important, as were any other safety issues," he said. "They served as one component of a system in which job-site issues were monitored and corrective action taken as necessary."

Other city, state and federal inspectors regularly trolled the site, yet none stopped the practices that led to the fatal blaze.[...]

The Fire Department, which failed to inspect the tower every 15 days as required by law, now says it meets the 15-day target on 93% of buildings.

"It was the perfect storm last year: a contaminated building being taken down by a shady company, and our guys weren't doing the inspections," one FDNY source said.

So now the building is being taken down and every piece removed is quadruple checked. To some that is justice, that things at the site are being done in a safer manner. To me that just seems like they are covering their asses now. For the families, friends and firefighters across the city, those responsible need to be held accountable, no matter how high the blame goes up on the chain of command.