DOB just a "disaster"

From the Daily News:

Buildings Department inspectors are poorly trained, inspections are frequently slipshod and fines are routinely laughed off as "the cost of doing business."

Those are the findings of a $4 million study released yesterday by the troubled city agency at the end of a five-year building boom that led to record numbers of construction deaths.

"Inspectors are currently not uniformly equipped to judge the acceptability of common unsafe conditions," the study concluded. "They rely primarily on their own varying level of training, experience and degree of tolerance on nonconforming issues."

The report faulted the department for having "no standard training procedure" for critical field inspections and said procedures are so lax it's often impossible to to determine whether architects' plans conform to city code.

The study noted that "nonuniform enforcement is the most common industry criticism" of the Buildings Department. Violation fees "are considered a 'cost of doing business.'"

The high-priced study team, led by CTL Engineers and Construction Technology Consultants, made more than 600 visits to some 400 sites in the five boroughs.

It found glaring problems in three basic construction operations - cranes, excavation and concrete - and made 66 recommendations for changes in procedures, some of which the Buildings Department has already implemented.

Kissena Park Golf Clubhouse torched

From Eyewitness News:

The club house and a number of golf carts caught fire at the Kissena Park Golf Course in Queens.

The golf carts apparently caught fire sometime after 1:30 a.m. this morning, and the fire spread to a clubhouse.

The second-alarm fire was quickly placed under control and the cause is under investigation.

Sources tell Eyewitness News that there is video of the fires being set.

Schumer brokers deal to get us more cops

NYPD GET FED FUNDS TO HIRE 128 COPS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The New York Police Department will be allowed to hire at least 128 new police officers using federal funding under a deal brokered by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.

The department will then promote more experienced officers to beef up the department's elite anti-terror units.

The previous federal rules restricted NYPD to hiring new officers only for anti-terrorism. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly argued it made more sense to hire rookies for regular duty and promote experienced officers to elite units.

Schumer says the department will get millions in federal economic recovery funding. The exact figure hasn't been decided.

Photo from the Daily News.

Parents question safety of school trailers

From NY1:

Parents are raising questions about the safety of portable classrooms at a school in Woodside, Queens.

Unisphere hawks released

From City Birder:

Bobby Horvath released the two juvenile Red-tailed Hawks in Flushing Meadow Park where they were reunited with their family. He sent a few photos of the event.

Queens A-Rod made fake 911 Calls

NEW YORK (AP) -- Prosecutors say a 50-year-old man made at least 20 fake emergency calls in the past four months claiming New York City police officers had been shot or were being held hostage.

Alex Rodriguez pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Tuesday to charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and falsely reporting an incident. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says the calls were made from pay phones around the city to 911, and an operator was told officers had been shot or injured. But the calls were all fake.

Brown says in one instance, officers speeding to the scene in bad weather were injured when the car crashed.

Lovefest: Katz and the Vallones

Vallone and Katz Endorse Each Other

Vallone excited the large crowd by introducing and announcing the mutual endorsement of Melinda Katz (D) Councilwoman District 29, who is running for New York City Comptroller. Katz and Vallone expressed appreciation and importance of each other's support for their respective Democratic Primary Campaigns.


From the Queens Campaigner:

City Councilwoman and Comptroller hopeful Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) picked up endorsements from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr., her campaign announced Tuesday.

“The city is lucky to have so many qualified candidates running for citywide office this year, but there is no one more qualified than Melinda Katz,” said Vallone in a statement. “I’ve always thought that land use is the most important function of the City Council and she has shown such great leadership and integrity as chairwoman of the Land Use Committee. I have no doubt that Melinda is the right candidate to lead the city during these very difficult economic times.”

Vallone, whose law firm specializes in real estate, and Katz, the Land Use Committee chairwoman, have crossed paths many times before and recently worked closely together on the redevelopment of Willets Point. Vallone was representing some of the largest Willets Point businesses at Willets Point and had been lobbying hard against the plan before an 11th-hour deal was brokered between the city, Council members and three of Vallone’s largest clients — House of Spices, Fodera Foods and Tully Construction.

The Land Use Committee and Katz, who previously had said she had reservations about the project, voted to approve the project the next morning.

That's a serious crack...

From ABC 7:

The crack between 273 and 275 Mott Street starts near the roof and shoots down more than 20 feet. It's a few inches wide already, and city officials want to know if all the rain is forcing the split even wider.

A complaint prompted firefighters to evacuate residents of 16 apartments in the two walk-up buildings for more than three hours.

A Sushi restaurant and clothing store were also evacuated during what should have been the busiest and most profitable part of the day.

Back on Mott Street, inspectors are giving the building a clean bill of health. The crack has been here on the facade for years and sensors are already installed to monitor whether it's widening. Just after nine, everyone was allowed back inside.

Don't know about you, but there's no way I would go back inside that building with a crack that wide...

Skeeter spraying to commence today

From NY1:

The city health department is getting ready to spray parts of Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx in order to control mosquitos.

The operation starts this Friday and lasts through Tuesday, weather permitting between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Queens
• Douglaston/Oakland Gardens (Alley Pond Park)
• Linden Hill/College Point (Abandoned Flushing Airport)
• Edgemere/Somerville (Dubos Point and Edgemere Park)
• Flushing (Flushing River)

Cinderblock style in Brooklyn

From Brownstoner:

A tipster walked by last week and was not particularly impressed: Along with this photo of the townhouse at the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue, here's what he had to say. "No rebar in this wall, many holes cut, many filled in and now, wacky windows.

Granted, this is the back of the development, but damn... what's with those windows?

Pot calling the kettle black?

From Crain's/AP:

A New York senator angry at being ordered to stay in Albany by Gov. David Paterson called his fellow Democrat a "coke-sniffing, staff-banging governor."

The comment to some reporters by Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn is one of the harshest criticisms of the governor by senators now in their third week of an internal power struggle that has shut down legislative action in the Senate.

Bloomie shits a brick over school control bill

From WNYC:

“If the Senate passes something that differs by one word or more, it is saying to the city ‘We want to resurrect the Soviet Union. We want to bring back chaos.’” - Mayor Michael Bloomberg

When you're not in complete control it drives you nuts, doesn't it? All that lobbying money spent, all those phony testimonials collected, and it all may be for nothing...

Two-Ton Tony pleads guilty

CROOKED POL PLEADS GUILTY
By BRUCE GOLDING, NY Post

Crooked former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio pleaded guilty yesterday in an influence-peddling scheme that the feds say netted him $1 million in illegal payoffs.

The 15-term Queens Democrat -- who on Tuesday resigned in disgrace -- admitted lobbying a state official last year on behalf of Jamaica Hospital after collecting a $390,000 "consulting fee."

"I knew that my conduct was illegal and wrong, your honor," Seminerio told the judge in Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors allege that Seminerio, 74, started selling out his office as early as 1999. He faces up to 14 years behind bars.

This Old House calls Richmond Hill one of the best

From This Old House:

The largest, most detailed homes are in North Richmond Hill, bordering the park, where many homes designed by famed New York City architect Henry Haugaard are located. His Queen Annes and Classical Revivals are known for their unique built-ins, enormous front porches, inlaid floors, and multicolored shingles.

Bloomberg's Gowanus plan is full of crap

From the Brooklyn Downtown Star:

The city is relying on paying for a large part of its proposed Gowanus Canal cleanup with Congressional funding that the Star has learned is not available now or in the foreseeable future.

As an alternative to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund cleanup, the Bloomberg Administration has proposed a cleanup plan to be carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would be partly funded by a Congressional appropriation awarded through the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

City officials have said their plan would rely on up to, or potentially more than, $100 million in WRDA funding, and would only work if Congress appropriates the funds for the canal.

But an investigation into WRDA guidelines, and interviews with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez - whose district includes the canal and who has led efforts to plan for its cleaning since 2002 - and with the Army Corps (USACE), shows that a cleanup of the Gowanus Canal has not been authorized for any Congressional funding and is not likely to receive any for the next several years, if not longer.

If this is true, it puts into question the legitimacy of a city plan that Velazquez criticized as infeasible.

Rich folk take over Washington Square Park

From MSNBC:

The swells who helped foot the bill for the multi-million dollar renovations at Washington Square Park are now ready to protect their investment by hiring off-duty cops as their own private security force.

"Radicals see this as a form of the loss of their public space, but we see this as securing the public space so it is civilized and better for them and for us," Dr. Gil Horowitz, founder of The Coalition for a Better Washington Square Park, told The New York Post. "Private security would bring actual security."

Not everyone is so thrilled with the idea of a greater police presence in the park that has long been home to musicians, skaters, pot smokers and the assorted riff-raff that help make New York City great.

"I think the rich folk who are sponsoring this want to change the character of the park from the free-wheeling street-theater scene to something that resembles their backyard terraces," Ron Kuby, a lawyer who lives in the Village, told The Post.

The first half of the $16 million renovations, which was paid for in part by the Tisch family and other private donors, involved nudging the park's famous fountain so it aligns with the archway at the entrance of the park.

Now Horowitz and others are collecting more donations to fund this special police force.

"There are wealthy New Yorkers that are public-minded," said Horowitz. "We have brought together some very high-level people in order to get this done."

An end to ticket dumping

From Fox 5:

It looks like a shady practice by ticket writers called "ticket dumping" is finally getting the attention of the NYPD. Fox 5 News has been on this story for more than two years and has now obtained an internal police memo that proves there's a crackdown going on.

Bloomberg failed the homeless

From NY1:

The Coalition for the Homeless says the mayor's promise five years ago to reduce homelessness by two-thirds has failed.

The organization says more than 36,000 New Yorkers slept in municipal shelters last month, which they say is a 197-percent increase over the mayor's pledge.

Coalition members also say last month, more than 9,500 families were in shelters, a nine-percent increase from 2004.

Albert Cohen's Flag Pin Flap

"Add attorney Albert Cohen to the crowded field of candidates running to replace Melinda Katz in the19th District. The candidacy is a first for the local Bukharian Jewish community.

Like any patriot, Cohen is wearing a US flag pin on his suit. Unfortunately, when he posed for a Bukharian community magazine, something went wrong with the flag. You take a look.

In the second photo, Cohen stands with his rabbi, Emanuel Shimonov, wearing the flag in its correct position.

In my opinion, it's better to not wear a flag pin than to wear it wrong.

If the Crowley & Reich Clubhouse try to knock Cohen off the ballot, the Bukharian community will not go down quietly. At the same time, if more candidates try to run for the same seat, Koslowitz will an easy time returning to power, because of a divided field of newcomers."

-local resident.

City makes $5.25M payout to illegal alien

INJURED ILLEGAL ALIEN GOT $5.25M CITY PAYOFF
By MURRAY WEISS, NY Post

The city paid an illegal-immigrant repairman from Hungary who fell off a Rikers Island roof $5.25 million because of a loophole that let small contractors avoid insuring their workers, The Post has learned.

The extraordinary settlement, reached in February, stemmed from a failure to include a routine indemnification clause in a $98,500 Correction Department contract with the now-defunct C&Z Contractors, of Queens.

Such a clause would have barred injured workers from suing the city.

Instead, the city found itself on the hook when Roland Hocza tumbled 20 feet, breaking both wrists and some vertebrae, on Jan. 23, 2006.

Prior to that, the city had not required small contractors to provide insurance protection on jobs under $100,000. It has since changed its policy, requiring indemnification on all work.

Hocza's illegal status surfaced in his lawsuit and therefore cannot be used against him. He essentially has been indemnified -- from deportation.

City lawyers at first said Hocza, 30, could simply return to Hungary, where he had family and could receive free medical care. During the trial, however, they threw in the towel.

His lawyer, Barry Washor, said Hocza, who came here in 1999, still has difficulty moving and can no longer drive.