Architects and engineers have a way to save Rikers plus provide it with ferry service.

Queens Chronicle

 
Can ferry boats be the way to stop a bruising battle over New York City’s jail problem?

A group of designers and engineers who live and work in Downtown Manhattan unveiled a plan last week that outlines in detail how to rebuild Rikers Island and use secure buses aboard ferries to transport prisoners to and from court.

It is one of the first specific, workable alternatives put forward by opponents to Mayor de Blasio’s sweeping plan to replace Rikers with four borough-based jails, including one in Kew Gardens behind the Queens Criminal Court building.

The City Council has scheduled a crucial vote on the mayor’s jail plan for next Thursday.

At bottom, the 49-page ferry proposal was drawn to upend the mayor’s $11-billion plan — $9 billion for the jails, plus $2 billion to repurpose Rikers as a multiuse city facility — that would take a decade to complete.

Local groups are bitterly opposed to the proposal that calls for the new jails in largely residential neighborhoods, as are criminal-justice reformers who want to see Rikers closed but oppose constructing new lockups.

The reimagining of Rikers calls for the city to demolish “every building” on the island and build a series of smaller, low-rise jails — each with a different level of security.

Renderings for a reconfigured Rikers include open spaces, sports facilities, a family center and a small farm.

Connecting a rebuilt island jail system with the boroughs by ferry “liberates Rikers” from the necessity of moving hundreds of prisoners being held on charges before conviction each day on long bus rides through city streets to the courts, said architect Bill Bialosky, a spokesman for the group.

A group of about a dozen volunteer architects and engineers has been working on the plan for about a month, meeting regularly at the Lin Sing Association, the century-old Chinese-American organization on Mott Street, with community leaders.

 Ferries, said Bialosky, are “the answer to the problem.”

Ferries would also be a good commuting alternative for the families and friends of prisoners.

Why didn't de Blasio and his bullshit city Economic Development Conspirators provide a ferry pier at Rikers in the first place? Well now you know. 

Engineer volunteering to help Kew Gardens bridge businesses

From the Queens Tribune:

A once-dim future for the Lefferts Boulevard bridge businesses in Kew Gardens appears to be getting brighter.

Recently, three engineers—from the MTA, city Department of Transportation and a volunteer retired engineer from Kew Garden—examined the bridge after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told the business owners that the platforms on which their buildings are located must be demolished.

Al Brand, the retired engineer, floated the idea that an additional concrete slab could be installed underneath the bridge.

Concerns regarding this proposal include whether the slab would allow adequate clearance for Long Island Rail Road trains underneath and the possible cost of the project.

Michael Cohen, communications director for Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D- Forest Hills), said that Brand is volunteering his expertise and acting as a representative for the Kew Gardens community and Koslowitz in the MTA’s discussions.

Cohen noted that there are still many questions that need to be answered regarding the site. He said that Koslowitz is pleased that the MTA is considering the alternative. He added that the agency has committed to hosting a meeting before Aug 1. to discuss bringing in a third-party consultant to review this matter and making a recommendation.

Hassan chopped!

From DNA Info:

The city has suspended the contractor and superintendent in charge of a work site where a construction collapse last week trapped and seriously injured three workers, officials announced Wednesday.

Ideal Builders and Construction and its superintendent Fazal Hassan were suspended following the June 20 incident at 31-25 28th Road, where the Department of Buildings accused the company of "cutting corners" while building a third-story addition on an existing home.

Officials say Hassan allowed crews to "improperly" load cinder blocks and other heavy equipment onto the newly built third floor, which wasn't stable enough to support the weight.

The floor collapsed, sending the materials crashing through the building's second and first floors, trapping and critically injuring three construction workers, including one man who was pinned under the debris for nearly two hours.

Officials say Hassan — the construction superintendent at the site, as well as at 10 other projects in the city — should have first had an engineer assess the third floor to make sure it was structurally sound.

The DOB is in the process of shutting down work at more than 60 construction sites that Hassan is associated with, according to a spokesman.

Expediter sanctioned by DOB

From Brownstoner:

Arguably the most famous expediter-engineer in the city, Scott Schnall, lost the right to file with the Department of Buildings in late February and now hundreds of projects in Brooklyn are in limbo.

An administrative court held a trial, found Schnall guilty of falsifying documents, and the DOB barred him from submitting filings to the department.

Department of Buildings v Schnall by queenscrapper on Scribd

The Brownstoner post has since been removed for an unknown reason.

Feds report that train engineer fled after Maspeth train crash

From the Times Ledger:

A federal probe into a fiery train crash last year faults the railway operator, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D–Flushing) announced Sunday. The crash occurred July 8, 2015, when a freight train operated by New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA) slammed into a tractor-trailer at the railroad crossing at Maspeth Avenue and injured the truck’s driver.

The tractor-trailer was leaving a warehouse on Maspeth Avenue when the train clipped it. The truck’s cab then burst into flames as the train dragged it for nearly 200 feet. The driver jumped out of the cab before his truck caught fire, avoiding serious injury.

The Federal Railroad Administra­tion’s (FRA) investigation concluded that the locomotive engineer failed to follow NYA’s operating rules and special instructions for the grade-crossing. The FRA found that the conductor’s failure to take any action to bring the train under control contributed to the accident.

The investigation was further complicated by the disappearance of the train’s engineer.

“FRA was not able to interview the engineer involved in the accident as he went missing immediately after the accident,” the FRA’s Focused Safety Review stated. “In the aftermath of the accident, the locomotive engineer left the scene and did not return to the railway. NYA subsequently terminated his employment.”

The FRA was able to interview the train’s conductor, who was cooperative and raised safety concerns regarding whether he had been adequately trained. The FRA identified several safety issues that NYA needs to address, including its failure to provide and document adequate training as testing of locomotive engineers and conductors, failure to issue certificates for the engineer and conductor, faulty record-keeping software, and the need for several actions to improve grade-crossing safety for motor vehicle users.

City bans 2 engineers

From Crains:

The city banned two construction engineers who submitted falsified plans to the Department of Buildings and signed off on unsafe blueprints—sometimes without even reviewing them—officials announced Tuesday.

"These individuals abused their privileges as licensed engineers, and put expediency and profit ahead of work-site safety," said Rick Chandler, commissioner of the department, in a statement.

Since last year, the Buildings Department has been cracking down on shady construction professionals. Its efforts have led to actions against 59 individuals. Stricter rules for construction sites were also implemented, including quadrupling fines for serious safety violations.

In this case, the two engineers, Yaakov Stern and Ashraf Ali, were caught in departmental audits and have had their filing privileges revoked.

City lets Boro Hall municipal garage fall apart

From the Times Ledger:

The DOT plans to shut the 500-spot municipal parking garage next to Borough Hall Wednesday due to structural concerns, elected officials said.

Despite politicians’ pleas that the mayor should have his transportation commissioner reconsider closing the lot at 80-25 126th St., Borough President Melinda Katz and City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz’s (D-Forest Hills) said DOT maintained the disrepair required an imminent closure.

“The city engineers are saying it’s unsafe,” Katz said. “The city is working with us to get traffic agents to be able to guide folks to private lots and parking spots.”

She said the city has not been able to find extra street parking.

Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Koslowitz, said Department of Transportation intended to take down the 1963-era Queensboro Hall Parking Garage and operate a 300-slot surface parking lot in its place. He said the councilwoman’s team was not yet given a time line for this work.

Collapsed building will be repaired instead of demolished

From the Queens Courier:

The owners of a partially collapsed Woodhaven building have prevented the city from demolishing their building by coming to a settlement to repair the collapsed roof by Oct. 15, according to court records and the lawyer representing its owners.

The building on 78-19 Jamaica Ave., considered an eyesore by many in the community, had originally been given a stay of demolition which expired on July 16. But the owners were able to prevent a demolition of the building after they sued the city for “arbitrary and capricious” conduct. The owners settled, agreeing to have the building fixed and completed by October.

“The engineer is working diligently to comply with the Department of Buildings,” , said Elio Forcina, the owners’ lawyer. “Once the building is finished, it will be very beautiful and the community will love it.”

149th Street bridge saga drags on

From Eyewitness News:

As the Eyewitness News Investigators reported in April, a bridge in Queens is so riddled with cracks, the city has kept it closed to traffic.

Not only is this bridge still closed more than a year after a complete overhaul, but there appears to be no real fix short of starting all over again.

Now the city blames the engineer and the engineer faults the city.

Avella's BSA bills advance

From Bayside Patch:

The state Senate’s Cities Committee has passed two bills proposed by Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, that involve the city’s Boards of Standards and Appeals.

One bill would require that one of the members of the BSA, which regulates development of private property, must be a financial analyst with processional qualifications and at least 10 years experience in the field.

Currently, the city’s charter requires the board to have at least one member who is a planner, another who is a registered architect and at least one licensed professional engineer.

“Given the broad powers the BSA has in granting variances based on economic and financial hardship, it should also be obvious that there is an important need for one member of the BSA to be a financial analyst,” Avella said.

The second bill would require that the variance and special permit decisions made by the board must be decided by a two-thirds majority of quorum present and voting.

Engineer covers his ass

From CBS:

An engineer says shoddy materials and construction techniques caused a fatal collapse at a building site in Brooklyn last week.

Steve Schneider tells The Daily News that the contractor was using lighter gauge steel than required for the floor decking at the five-story condominium project. He also says crews had secured joists with nails and clamps instead of welding them or fastening them with special screws.

Schneider was responsible for checking the site’s safety before workers started pouring concrete, but he says the contractor never notified him that the workers were ready to begin. He says he would not have approved concrete pouring if he had known.

One worker was killed and four injured in the collapse on Tuesday.

Call for end to Little Neck flooding

From the Queens Gazette:

State Senator Tony Avella joined residents who live along 57th Avenue in Little Neck in calling on the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the immediate installation of curb openings and additional catch basins to alleviate the massive flooding conditions that plague their neighborhood even after the most marginal rain.

Residents have been complaining to DEP for years that the current catch basins clog far too easily, leading to the flooding of basements and garages of at least six houses on the block.

Flooding of this area is recurrent and dates back to 1987 when the city installed sewers and catch basins on 57th Avenue after the settlement of a suit brought by the homeowners.

At that time, a private engineer retained by the homeowners, advised the city that their plans failed to provide adequate catch basins and the basins should be of a hook and hanger type.

The city ignored the engineers’ recommendations.

High tech system to help developers

From the NY Post:

The city yesterday revealed a new, high-tech system that will cut in half the time it takes building developers to get approval for their plans.

Architects and engineers can now submit their plans in digital form and discuss them via video-conference with officials from the Buildings Department and other agencies.

“This is night and day in terms of how we’ve been functioning,” said Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

In the past, repeated meetings were needed to get plans approved, and, sometimes, three weeks could pass between one meeting and another.

“People keep saying, ‘What are you doing in a third term?’” said Mayor Bloomberg. “It’s this kind of stuff that is going to go on for a very long time.”

Thanks for the warning.