Kosciuszko Bridge is not prepared for a terror attack and it's design was stolen according to lawsuit.

NY Post

A botched job of terror-proofing the new Kosciuszko Bridge has left its cables vulnerable to attack — and bumbling contractors even posted information online that all but provides a blueprint for would-be bombers, a blockbuster suit alleges.

Meanwhile, preventable “aggressive corrosion” of the shielding that’s supposed to protect the span’s 112 cables could cause them to break on their own — or send the metal-and-concrete armor tumbling onto the heavily trafficked overpass connecting Brooklyn and Queens, the court papers claim.
“These failings create a severe and imminent threat to public safety, the implications of which cannot be overstated,” according to the suit.

The alarming claims are part of a suit brought by Maryland-based armor manufacturing company Hardwire LLC alleging theft of trade secrets by its former vice president and program manager of bridge security, Irvin “Skip” Ebaugh IV.

The FBI has an active and ongoing criminal investigation into the alleged rip-off and Ebaugh’s work on the Kosciuszko or “K Bridge,” according to the suit Hardwire filed last month in Baltimore federal court.
 
The suit seeks more than $39.6 million in damages from Ebaugh and his company, Infrastructure Armor LLC, for allegedly using Hardwire’s technology to underbid the firm and win a contract for the Kosciuszko job — without having the expertise to properly manufacture and install the cable shields.
 
“As a result, Ebaugh and IA’s armor work at the K Bridge is critically flawed and creates a severe and imminent danger to the public and those that use and work on the bridge spans,” the suit charges.

Update: Skippy returned to do a little "upgrading".

NY Post

The contractor accused of botching the installation of protective shields around the new Kosciuszko Bridge’s cables was spotted installing a metal strap around one of the anti-terror devices on Monday.
 
Photos shot by The Post show Irvin “Skip” Ebaugh IV and another worker standing on an elevating work platform as they cinch down one of three straps on a shield whose sections don’t appear flush along their length.
 
The apparent repair effort came hours after The Post exclusively revealed Ebaugh faces a $39.6 million suit for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a former employer that he underbid to get the cable-armor job.

Man looks forward to city contract to build more tiny houses under de Blasio's latest plan to build "affordable" housing

THE CITY

Entrepreneur Tom Saat built a teeny, tiny house in Queens.

“It has a stand-up shower, compost toilet, full-size refrigerator and a second-story high enough to stand in,” said Saat, a 57-year-old Turkish immigrant who worked on his 300-square-foot home in Astoria before moving it to a Long Island City industrial warehouse last year.

“It took my family more than a year to build,” he said. “I have a construction background and watched a lot of YouTube videos. God bless the internet.”

Tom Saat sits atop the roof of tiny house he built. Photo: Courtesy of the Saat family

Saat, who runs a business as a general contractor, is among those excited about the de Blasio administration’s bid to boost affordable housing by easing restrictions on backyard dwellings and basement apartments. The mayor revealed the proposal last week ahead of his State of the City address at the American Museum of Natural History.

“People should be allowed to put tiny houses in their backyard — or someone else’s backyard with their permission,” said Saat, who actually lives in Lower Manhattan. “And there should be lots assigned for tiny-house owners.”

Saat’s eight-foot-wide, 23.5-foot long house on wheels, with an electronic, retractable second floor, cost roughly $50,000 to build. He and his family eventually moved it out of an industrial warehouse in Long Island City on Thanksgiving Day last year and headed to a more affordable lot upstate in Stormville, N.Y.

Saat conceded that his little home, while cozy, does not comply with city building codes in its current state: The 6.5-foot second-story ceiling does not meet the required minimum clearance, for instance, and the bathroom uses removable plastic bags for waste.

“Number one goes into a separate container which can include a small chlorine tablet inside for keeping it clean, germ- and odor-free,” he said. “Number two goes into the plastic bag area and sawdust, or other natural dust made from coconut shell, is used to cover number two each time it is used. Once or twice a month, this bag is replaced.”

If the city were to ease restrictions, Saat said, he would consider offering classes on building tiny homes in the boroughs. He had planned to offer classes in Queens before heading north.

De Blasio administration officials predict at least 10,000 additional units, including newly approved basement apartments and tiny backyard homes, could be added to the city within the next 10 years under the proposed changes, which the City Council must approve.

I think it's necessary to also post the conclusion of this article, which throws this ridiculous (and gross idea) into the growing dung heap of de Blasio's housing policies:

Other architects, however, remained a bit skeptical.

Lorena del Río, an assistant professor of architecture at The Cooper Union who has worked on affordable housing in Madrid, said, “It’s not going to resolve the bigger problem. Affordable housing should have even higher standards in terms of design so that people don’t end up living in a closet.”

The solution to the city’s housing crunch, she suggested, involved more alliances between the public and private sectors — and the “political will” to regulate housing prices.

“That is the future of affordable housing,” she said. “Not tiny houses.”

 Not only should people not end up living in a closet, but people shouldn't end up shitting in plastic bags every day.

Wacky ideas submitted for Pavilion revamp

The Wall Street Journal has some of the ideas submitted for the NYS Pavilion.

It takes a year and a half to pave a parking lot

From the Queens Tribune:

With the need for parking still great around Borough Hall, the city plans to turn the former parking garage behind the hall into a flat parking area.

The crumbling garage was demolished this past July. Sharon Lee, a spokesperson for Borough President Melinda Katz, stated there will be an, “at grade (flat, not elevated) street level municipal parking lot.”

“They are working on the parking lot design now,” said Lee, adding that there will be a January 2016 procurement, bid and anticipated construction completion is first quarter of 2017.”

The project was initially slated to finished this fall, but has been extended for one year.