Comprehensive overview relating to what is happening at the Deutsche Bank (130 Liberty Street)
-air monitering
-deconstruction
-stop on projecy
http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/project_updates/130_liberty_street__77170.aspx
Friday, February 8, 2008
City Hall Hearing: Department of Buildings
Hi All,
Attached (finally) is the little report thing I did for my policy class last semester. It's a report on a hearing for the Department of Buildings chaired by James Oddo (R-STaten island). Pretty interesting for our purposes (totally uninteresting for others). Also attached is the audio recording if ur interested (i.e., if you have 2 hours to spare listening in on a City Council hearing...).
Enjoy!
Andrew
http://saveandrewgarib.com/externalarticles/07.10.17-wagner-cityhallhearing.doc
http://saveandrewgarib.com/audio/CityHallHearing-DoB-2007-10-16_14h55m34s.mp3
Attached (finally) is the little report thing I did for my policy class last semester. It's a report on a hearing for the Department of Buildings chaired by James Oddo (R-STaten island). Pretty interesting for our purposes (totally uninteresting for others). Also attached is the audio recording if ur interested (i.e., if you have 2 hours to spare listening in on a City Council hearing...).
Enjoy!
Andrew
http://saveandrewgarib.com/externalarticles/07.10.17-wagner-cityhallhearing.doc
http://saveandrewgarib.com/audio/CityHallHearing-DoB-2007-10-16_14h55m34s.mp3
Going Green
There's quite a bit of information out there on the implications of integrating Green LEED standards with building codes. Some quick facts:
-LOCAL LAW 86: NYC has required that all development (that fits within certain guidelines) must achieve LEED certification.
-The Freedom Tower is planned to be a Gold Standard LEED building
-There is discussion as to whether straw-based installation (which is considered extremely environmentally friendly) can meet building/fire safety codes
-Lucrative tax credits are offered to compensate builders for going green
-The use of recycled construction material is widespread
-Take a look at Executive Order 111 - enacted by Pataki
-Following LEED standards may actually increase the safety of buildings (ie: in the event of a biological attack, rooms with certain air pressure requirements may be less affected)
-Going green may reduce losses in the event of a natural disaster
There is also an event, put on by GreenHomeNYC, which will take a look at how the new building code will address sustainable design. The event is being held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.. Unfortunately, I will be in DC that night and won't be able to make it. Any chance someone can cover it for me? Basically just show up with a tape recorder and perhaps get contact info for follow-up questions? Please and Thanks!!!!!! (http://www.greenhomenyc.org/events?do=view&event_id=793&PHPSESSID=3a314f2f99fc0ce9f8c51d18bae51fe0)
Some helpful resources for all of us might including the Building Code Journal, the American Insurance Association, Construction Monthly, and other sites I have listed below (note that some are green-specific):
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/1546.html
-625 Broadway – recycled materials etc
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/1544.html
-tax credits issued to co-locate/mixed-use buildings
http://www.cdrecycling.org/
-construction materials recycling association
http://www.constructionmonthly.com/Bill_01_05082007.html
-article from Construction Monthly
www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf
/ll_86of2005.pdf
-Local Law 86 – Green Buildings Law
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Updating+the+building+code+to+save+energy-a0121209295
-example of when pressure from green enthusiasts can affect building codes
http://www.iccsafe.org/news/bsj/
-Building Safety Journal
http://eetd.lbl.gov/insurance-research/GoingGreen.html
-“Going Green Reduces Losses” (re: natural disasters)
-LOCAL LAW 86: NYC has required that all development (that fits within certain guidelines) must achieve LEED certification.
-The Freedom Tower is planned to be a Gold Standard LEED building
-There is discussion as to whether straw-based installation (which is considered extremely environmentally friendly) can meet building/fire safety codes
-Lucrative tax credits are offered to compensate builders for going green
-The use of recycled construction material is widespread
-Take a look at Executive Order 111 - enacted by Pataki
-Following LEED standards may actually increase the safety of buildings (ie: in the event of a biological attack, rooms with certain air pressure requirements may be less affected)
-Going green may reduce losses in the event of a natural disaster
There is also an event, put on by GreenHomeNYC, which will take a look at how the new building code will address sustainable design. The event is being held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.. Unfortunately, I will be in DC that night and won't be able to make it. Any chance someone can cover it for me? Basically just show up with a tape recorder and perhaps get contact info for follow-up questions? Please and Thanks!!!!!! (http://www.greenhomenyc.org/events?do=view&event_id=793&PHPSESSID=3a314f2f99fc0ce9f8c51d18bae51fe0)
Some helpful resources for all of us might including the Building Code Journal, the American Insurance Association, Construction Monthly, and other sites I have listed below (note that some are green-specific):
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/1546.html
-625 Broadway – recycled materials etc
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/1544.html
-tax credits issued to co-locate/mixed-use buildings
http://www.cdrecycling.org/
-construction materials recycling association
http://www.constructionmonthly.com/Bill_01_05082007.html
-article from Construction Monthly
www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf
/ll_86of2005.pdf
-Local Law 86 – Green Buildings Law
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Updating+the+building+code+to+save+energy-a0121209295
-example of when pressure from green enthusiasts can affect building codes
http://www.iccsafe.org/news/bsj/
-Building Safety Journal
http://eetd.lbl.gov/insurance-research/GoingGreen.html
-“Going Green Reduces Losses” (re: natural disasters)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Workers
Excerpt from 2007 report from Brennan Center for Social Justice
re: unregulated work in NYC construction p.73-76
www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_49377.pdf
High-Rise Deaths
Another intersting article that could give us some direction. It's a Daily News investigative story into high-rise deaths that was published on Sunday.
Daily News (New York)
February 3, 2008 Sunday SPORTS FINAL EDITIONBIG GAP IN SAFETY NET. Hi-rise deaths, falling debris stir city probeBYLINE: BY BRIAN KATES DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSECTION: NEWS; I TEAM SPECIAL INVESTIGATION; Pg. 10LENGTH: 989 words
MORE AND MORE construction workers are plunging from the crop of new towers sprouting across the city, but officials are doing little to identify and track problem contractors, a Daily News investigation has found.
And workers aren't the only ones in danger. Concrete has fallen from dizzying heights. Metal bolts have landed on pedestrians. Steel buckets have crushed taxicabs.
That's the steep price for the city's supercharged building boom, which sparked a 12% increase in high rise development last year - and a staggering 83% spike in construction accidents.
The death of Jose Palacios, who plunged 13 stories from a condo tower on Clinton Ave. in Brooklyn last Wednesday, marked the 12th construction death in the last 12 months.
Palacios and co-worker Ivan Matute were working a concrete and masonry job, the trades most often involved in serious construction accidents in the city, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration says.
High-rise hazards are so pervasive that the City Council has summoned Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster to an emergency hearing on building safety tomorrow.
The hearing was called after laborer Yuriy Vanchytskyy plummeted to his death and co-worker Francisco Palizzotto was severely injured Jan. 14 at the Donald Trump hotel-condominium at 246 Spring St. in SoHo. The workers were pouring concrete.
Palizzotto, who landed face down in a net looking at the ground 42 stories below, suffered multiple injuries, but has been released from the hospital.
"He is having nightmares and refuses to talk," Palizzotto's pregnant wife said. "He is not the same since the accident and it is very difficult for me."
Often the same companies are cited for concrete-operation violations, a News review of OSHA records reveals.
"The Buildings Department has not maintained an accessible list of violations issued against various contractors," said Al Gerosa, president of the Concrete Alliance, a trade group. "We would like to see such a contractor list so that problems could be dealt with before a tragedy occurs."
The list would likely include DiFama Concrete, which employed Vanchytskyy and Palizzotto.
The company's extensive OSHA record includes at least 17 serious violations since 2004, when a DiFama worker fell 30 feet to his death from a crane at a condo tower at 350 W. 53rd St.
Since then, at least three workers have fallen at DiFama sites. The company has been slapped with $109,125 in penalties.
Sites where workers fall are often rife with hazards.
Take 250 E. 53rd St.: Records show 28 complaints and 11 major violations involving various contractors there since 2005.
DiFama was hit with $50,000 in OSHA fines for safety violations there in November 2006, one day after a worker fell 18 feet from a sidewalk shed into an area with "sharp projecting objects and steel pipes."
In January 2007, a chunk of concrete fell, hitting a nearby rooftop. In April, a sheet of plywood dropped, striking a woman on Second Ave. Last May, a 5-inch bolt plummeted from the 31st floor, ricocheting onto the street. Plaza Construction Corp. was cited in each case.
Then there's the 110 Third Ave. condo high-rise. In September 2006, Haitian immigrant Chrislorme Paul was nearly killed when a 4-ton piece of steel plunged 21 stories from a crane, crushing the yellow cab he was driving.
Paul and his passenger escaped with minor injuries, but three construction workers were hurt.
The crane was operated by Broadway Concrete Co. The company hired lobbyist George Artz for damage control, paying him $37,500 in 2006 and 2007 to curry favor with the Buildings Department.
Artz said he could not recall whom he talked to at the department. "I wanted to make sure they got a fair hearing," he said.
Broadway continued to have safety issues. Last June 14, OSHA fined Broadway $8,700 for serious violations involving work at a 33-story building at 343 W. 39th St. On Aug. 24, the agency hit the company with $10,000 in penalties after a foreman dismantling a crane suffered five broken ribs and internal injuries.
Last November, a worker was rushed to the hospital after a ladder fell from the roof of an adjacent building and struck him, records show.
Some skyscrapers should be posted with "Look Out Below!" signs.
A long list of cascading material from 1111 Sixth Ave. culminated Oct. 7, when a construction bucket hurtled 53 stories to the ground, showering the street with glass and debris.
Four workers and four pedestrians were injured. Buildings Department records show the disaster was just waiting to happen.
In January 2007, a metal plate had plummeted two floors. In February, Tishman Construction Corp. was cited for not having a safety manager on site. In May, tears in protective tarps again allowed material to fall from the building.
In June, a woman was struck by a bolt that fell from the 52nd floor and safety nets were reported damaged. Finally in August, a metal turnbuckle fell from the building.
After the bucket hit the cab in October, OSHA fined Century Maxim Construction - a concrete company it once warned had twice the national average in employee injuries - $12,500 and for "fall protection" failures.
bkates@nydailynews.com
Graphic: CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS IN THE CITY
Here's where workers have fallen or there have been multiple objects falling from high-rise construction sites
250 E. 53rd St., Worker injured in fall in November 2006.
1111 Sixth Ave. Numerous objects fall into street, including bucket, bolt and turnbuckle plummeting to street late 2007.
20 E. 23rd St. One worker injured in fall in November.
110-112 Third Ave. Steel from crane falls into street, September 2006.
350 W. 53rd St. Worker dies in fall in 2004.
343 W. 39th St. Worker crushed while dismantling a crane last August.
246 Spring St. Two workers fall Jan. 14; one dies. Earlier, concrete falls into neighbor's yard.
15 William St. Worker injured in fall in January 2007.
525 Clinton Ave. Two workers fall Jan. 30; one dies.
Daily News (New York)
February 3, 2008 Sunday SPORTS FINAL EDITIONBIG GAP IN SAFETY NET. Hi-rise deaths, falling debris stir city probeBYLINE: BY BRIAN KATES DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSECTION: NEWS; I TEAM SPECIAL INVESTIGATION; Pg. 10LENGTH: 989 words
MORE AND MORE construction workers are plunging from the crop of new towers sprouting across the city, but officials are doing little to identify and track problem contractors, a Daily News investigation has found.
And workers aren't the only ones in danger. Concrete has fallen from dizzying heights. Metal bolts have landed on pedestrians. Steel buckets have crushed taxicabs.
That's the steep price for the city's supercharged building boom, which sparked a 12% increase in high rise development last year - and a staggering 83% spike in construction accidents.
The death of Jose Palacios, who plunged 13 stories from a condo tower on Clinton Ave. in Brooklyn last Wednesday, marked the 12th construction death in the last 12 months.
Palacios and co-worker Ivan Matute were working a concrete and masonry job, the trades most often involved in serious construction accidents in the city, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration says.
High-rise hazards are so pervasive that the City Council has summoned Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster to an emergency hearing on building safety tomorrow.
The hearing was called after laborer Yuriy Vanchytskyy plummeted to his death and co-worker Francisco Palizzotto was severely injured Jan. 14 at the Donald Trump hotel-condominium at 246 Spring St. in SoHo. The workers were pouring concrete.
Palizzotto, who landed face down in a net looking at the ground 42 stories below, suffered multiple injuries, but has been released from the hospital.
"He is having nightmares and refuses to talk," Palizzotto's pregnant wife said. "He is not the same since the accident and it is very difficult for me."
Often the same companies are cited for concrete-operation violations, a News review of OSHA records reveals.
"The Buildings Department has not maintained an accessible list of violations issued against various contractors," said Al Gerosa, president of the Concrete Alliance, a trade group. "We would like to see such a contractor list so that problems could be dealt with before a tragedy occurs."
The list would likely include DiFama Concrete, which employed Vanchytskyy and Palizzotto.
The company's extensive OSHA record includes at least 17 serious violations since 2004, when a DiFama worker fell 30 feet to his death from a crane at a condo tower at 350 W. 53rd St.
Since then, at least three workers have fallen at DiFama sites. The company has been slapped with $109,125 in penalties.
Sites where workers fall are often rife with hazards.
Take 250 E. 53rd St.: Records show 28 complaints and 11 major violations involving various contractors there since 2005.
DiFama was hit with $50,000 in OSHA fines for safety violations there in November 2006, one day after a worker fell 18 feet from a sidewalk shed into an area with "sharp projecting objects and steel pipes."
In January 2007, a chunk of concrete fell, hitting a nearby rooftop. In April, a sheet of plywood dropped, striking a woman on Second Ave. Last May, a 5-inch bolt plummeted from the 31st floor, ricocheting onto the street. Plaza Construction Corp. was cited in each case.
Then there's the 110 Third Ave. condo high-rise. In September 2006, Haitian immigrant Chrislorme Paul was nearly killed when a 4-ton piece of steel plunged 21 stories from a crane, crushing the yellow cab he was driving.
Paul and his passenger escaped with minor injuries, but three construction workers were hurt.
The crane was operated by Broadway Concrete Co. The company hired lobbyist George Artz for damage control, paying him $37,500 in 2006 and 2007 to curry favor with the Buildings Department.
Artz said he could not recall whom he talked to at the department. "I wanted to make sure they got a fair hearing," he said.
Broadway continued to have safety issues. Last June 14, OSHA fined Broadway $8,700 for serious violations involving work at a 33-story building at 343 W. 39th St. On Aug. 24, the agency hit the company with $10,000 in penalties after a foreman dismantling a crane suffered five broken ribs and internal injuries.
Last November, a worker was rushed to the hospital after a ladder fell from the roof of an adjacent building and struck him, records show.
Some skyscrapers should be posted with "Look Out Below!" signs.
A long list of cascading material from 1111 Sixth Ave. culminated Oct. 7, when a construction bucket hurtled 53 stories to the ground, showering the street with glass and debris.
Four workers and four pedestrians were injured. Buildings Department records show the disaster was just waiting to happen.
In January 2007, a metal plate had plummeted two floors. In February, Tishman Construction Corp. was cited for not having a safety manager on site. In May, tears in protective tarps again allowed material to fall from the building.
In June, a woman was struck by a bolt that fell from the 52nd floor and safety nets were reported damaged. Finally in August, a metal turnbuckle fell from the building.
After the bucket hit the cab in October, OSHA fined Century Maxim Construction - a concrete company it once warned had twice the national average in employee injuries - $12,500 and for "fall protection" failures.
bkates@nydailynews.com
Graphic: CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS IN THE CITY
Here's where workers have fallen or there have been multiple objects falling from high-rise construction sites
250 E. 53rd St., Worker injured in fall in November 2006.
1111 Sixth Ave. Numerous objects fall into street, including bucket, bolt and turnbuckle plummeting to street late 2007.
20 E. 23rd St. One worker injured in fall in November.
110-112 Third Ave. Steel from crane falls into street, September 2006.
350 W. 53rd St. Worker dies in fall in 2004.
343 W. 39th St. Worker crushed while dismantling a crane last August.
246 Spring St. Two workers fall Jan. 14; one dies. Earlier, concrete falls into neighbor's yard.
15 William St. Worker injured in fall in January 2007.
525 Clinton Ave. Two workers fall Jan. 30; one dies.
Self-Certification
Thought this was interesting. It's an article about the practice of builders self-certifying building plans.
Architectural Record
November 1, 2007Should architects be allowed to self-certify building plans?BYLINE: Dorian DavisSECTION: Record News; Pg. 47 Vol. 195 No. 11LENGTH: 577 words
Just as other cities around the country are experimenting with ways to streamline the plan-review and permit process, New York City, a trendsetter in this respect, is clamping down on its practice of allowing architects to self-certify building plans.
To save architects time, Los Angeles has unveiled the Guaranteed Express Permit Program. It serves walk-in customers with small projects within 30 minutes and issues a permit within 90 minutes or the application is free. In Honolulu, the city's Department of Planning and Permitting is allowing architects to retain private firms to inspect their building plans and report those plans certified--a system that it calls "third-party review."
New York City's Department of Buildings (DOB) initiated self-certification in 1995 to ease a permit backlog and stimulate development. Officially called "professional certification," the practice allows architects and engineers to confirm that their plans are compliant with applicable laws, rather than submit them to DOB inspectors. "It can save three or four months, and these are big numbers," says Marvin Meltzer, a partner at Meltzer-Mandl, adding that the practice is a valuable marketing tool. Forty-eight percent of the 7,000 new building applications submitted in 2006 were self-certified.
But self-certification can also make it easier for some people to take liberties with building codes and zoning restrictions. In 2006, the city discovered that Brooklyn-based architect Robert Scarano was skirting height restrictions by mislabeling whole floors as mezzanines. Safety concerns, while not necessarily caused by self-certification, have since prompted the city to halt construction on roughly 60 of his buildings. Scarano proved to be the tip of the iceberg. A DOB audit found that 57 percent of self-certified new building plans in 2006 failed to comply with codes.
State lawmakers are putting the brakes on self-certification. In August, with the backing of New York City buildings commissioner Patricia Lancaster, Governor Eliot Spitzer signed into law the "self-certification bill." It enables DOB to prevent architects from self-certifying if they have misrepresented plans in the past. Next up is a bill that seeks to limit the practice for honest architects. It would require a full DOB inspection for plans to add more floors onto existing buildings, common in land-starved Manhattan. "Most architects are superb professionals, but there are some bad apples, and their main concern is not safety but speed," says Linda Rosenthal, the bill's author. Her proposal, the most comprehensive overhaul of self-certification since 1995, cleared the assembly's Cities Committee in May and is awaiting action from Ways and Means.
Some local officials worry that the measure could have a chilling effect on development. "It has the potential to slow down the issuance of permits," Lancaster says. "The focus should be on how the city can hold responsible parties accountable and how we can prevent repeat offenders from utilizing the privilege." Meltzer, who certified all of his own buildings over the past 12 years, appears to agree: "The majority of us who know what we're doing are being punished for the minority who don't."
Advocates of limiting self-certification respond that safety is their main concern. "More eyes on building plans means more safety," Rosenthal says. It remains to be seen if other cities nationwide will agree. architecturalrecord.com/news
Architectural Record
November 1, 2007Should architects be allowed to self-certify building plans?BYLINE: Dorian DavisSECTION: Record News; Pg. 47 Vol. 195 No. 11LENGTH: 577 words
Just as other cities around the country are experimenting with ways to streamline the plan-review and permit process, New York City, a trendsetter in this respect, is clamping down on its practice of allowing architects to self-certify building plans.
To save architects time, Los Angeles has unveiled the Guaranteed Express Permit Program. It serves walk-in customers with small projects within 30 minutes and issues a permit within 90 minutes or the application is free. In Honolulu, the city's Department of Planning and Permitting is allowing architects to retain private firms to inspect their building plans and report those plans certified--a system that it calls "third-party review."
New York City's Department of Buildings (DOB) initiated self-certification in 1995 to ease a permit backlog and stimulate development. Officially called "professional certification," the practice allows architects and engineers to confirm that their plans are compliant with applicable laws, rather than submit them to DOB inspectors. "It can save three or four months, and these are big numbers," says Marvin Meltzer, a partner at Meltzer-Mandl, adding that the practice is a valuable marketing tool. Forty-eight percent of the 7,000 new building applications submitted in 2006 were self-certified.
But self-certification can also make it easier for some people to take liberties with building codes and zoning restrictions. In 2006, the city discovered that Brooklyn-based architect Robert Scarano was skirting height restrictions by mislabeling whole floors as mezzanines. Safety concerns, while not necessarily caused by self-certification, have since prompted the city to halt construction on roughly 60 of his buildings. Scarano proved to be the tip of the iceberg. A DOB audit found that 57 percent of self-certified new building plans in 2006 failed to comply with codes.
State lawmakers are putting the brakes on self-certification. In August, with the backing of New York City buildings commissioner Patricia Lancaster, Governor Eliot Spitzer signed into law the "self-certification bill." It enables DOB to prevent architects from self-certifying if they have misrepresented plans in the past. Next up is a bill that seeks to limit the practice for honest architects. It would require a full DOB inspection for plans to add more floors onto existing buildings, common in land-starved Manhattan. "Most architects are superb professionals, but there are some bad apples, and their main concern is not safety but speed," says Linda Rosenthal, the bill's author. Her proposal, the most comprehensive overhaul of self-certification since 1995, cleared the assembly's Cities Committee in May and is awaiting action from Ways and Means.
Some local officials worry that the measure could have a chilling effect on development. "It has the potential to slow down the issuance of permits," Lancaster says. "The focus should be on how the city can hold responsible parties accountable and how we can prevent repeat offenders from utilizing the privilege." Meltzer, who certified all of his own buildings over the past 12 years, appears to agree: "The majority of us who know what we're doing are being punished for the minority who don't."
Advocates of limiting self-certification respond that safety is their main concern. "More eyes on building plans means more safety," Rosenthal says. It remains to be seen if other cities nationwide will agree. architecturalrecord.com/news
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