Tuesday, April 11, 2017

The Department of Bureaucracy

From the Wall Street Journal:

New York City’s libraries and other cultural organizations looking to build facilities or make repairs often endure a staggeringly long process and added costs under the agency that manages such city-funded projects, a report finds.

The city’s Department of Design and Construction was created in 1996 to consolidate and more efficiently manage the city’s capital projects. But a study issued by the Center for an Urban Future, a nonpartisan policy think tank, found that delays and cost overruns were pervasive among the 144 library and cultural projects analyzed between 2010 and 2014.

The study revealed that the median cost of construction for new library and cultural buildings managed by the DDC was $930 a square foot, compared with $425 to $500 a square foot range for speculative office construction costs estimated by a New York Building Congress analysis of 2015 New York City construction costs.

The main problem: Excessive layers of reviews and approvals dragged out these projects, according to the report, conducted in partnership with the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan nonprofit group.

7 comments:

(sarc) said...

OH MY!

I AM SHOCKED!

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!

I never would have thought that adding another level of unaccountable bureaucracy would increase project time AND INCREASE COSTS,

As Ronald Wilson Reagan said:
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'We're here from the government and We're here to help.'"

It is almost that time when people are starting to realize that th "SWAMP" is in need of draining...

Gary W said...

The more bureaucracy, the more opportunities for graft. It's a feature not a bug.

georgetheatheist said...

"We're here from the government and We're here to help."

Looks like 10 words to me. And I'd count the "we're" as 2 words, so it's actually 12 words, no?

Anonymous said...

And a pathological, treasonous traitor like Reagan was part of the epic, government fail, (sarc), so who better to know than that un-American, anti-American corporate fascist thief himself! And, We, the People are STILL paying a soul-crushing price for his heinous crimes against humanity, where several more generations will pay the same crushing debt as well!

Liman said...

No, the main problem is that projects funded by the City must be built at "prevailing wage" - that means the full union rate, even if the contractors are non-union! This is not even close to market rates. It's a guarantee that the taxpayers pay the most they can for any work.

(sarc) said...

georgetheatheist said...
" 'We're here from the government and We're here to help.'
Looks like 10 words to me. And I'd count the "we're" as 2 words, so it's actually 12 words, no?"

Thank you for your observations and corrections!

Microsoft Word "word count" has it at ten words, so your consideration of a contraction as a single word, per William Henry "Bill" Gates the Third, is correct!

However;

I must apologize, I mis-attributed and mis-quoted one of our greatest presidents, President Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Please consider forgiveness for my transgression, I humbly beseech you.

President Ronald Wilson Reagan said:
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

We would not want "false News" on the "Crapper"!!

The review by "Microsoft Word" has his original quote at nine words, so our Great former President had it correct!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhYJS80MgYA

This discussion of semantics changes not the excessive costs and absurd waste by a bloated and useless city government and administration...

Anonymous said...

They did a lousy job on the kew gardens interchange project. How do you do massive roadwork and not repair the lighting?? Is there any follow up quality assurance,or do they only work 8 -4 and never drive along the roads they work on? Great job along with useless DOT.