1)James Delayo, the Buildings Department crane inspector arrested on Friday for taking bribes and selling copies of a crane operators' exam, was released on his own recognizance after appearing in court. The charges against him include bribe-receiving and tampering with public records, both felonies that could carry seven year prison terms (and can we tack on some extra time for wearing a bandana as a belt?). The 26-year DOB veteran, who was promoted following the March 15 crane collapse that killed seven, allegedly took money in exchange for issuing licenses to Class C crane operators (smaller than the tower cranes that have been falling on the city) that worked for Nu-Way Crane Service in Copiague. Delayo has been suspended without pay. ['Top City Crane Inspector Accused of Taking Bribes'/NYT]
2) When the moneyed citizens of the Upper East Side aren't busy fighting churches, they turn their attention to those banners that the Department of Transportation hangs on lampposts to advertise things going on in New York. One staunch blue blood even refers to them as "dirty laundry." [The City/Gregory Beyer]
3) A graphic designer who grew up in Soho wants to move out of his parents' Broome Street loft, but his budget is $300,000. With not many places to turn, he opts for a studio on the Far West Side near the Lincoln Tunnel and West Side Rail Yards. It reminds him of the Soho of his youth, he says, and he digs the seediness and drug addicts. [The Hunt/Joyce Cohen]
4) Want to sell your apartment eventually? Then don't put any of your personality into it whatsoever. Yeesh, does anybody look at a home as a home anymore, and not just an investment? ['Start in Neutral'/Teri Karush Rogers]
The Buildings Department's acting chief crane inspector was arrested today on corruption charges. The arrest comes a week after a crane collapse on East 91st Street killed two construction workers, and after the district attorney's office launched an investigation into the accident. City Room is reporting that he was charged with taking bribes to approve cranes, and for taking money from operators who wanted to ensure they would pass the licensing exam. James Delayo surrendered this morning and will be arraigned later tonight. Officials say the accusations do not involve the inspections of tower cranes, such as the one that collapsed last week and the one in Turtle Bay that collapsed on March 15, when a crane inspector was arrested and charged with falsifying reports.
Acting DOB Commissioner Robert LiMandri just issued this statement: "I'm outraged by today’s news. Employees who violate our Code of Conduct tarnish the reputation of our many hard-working employees at the Buildings Department. I’d like to thank Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn and her staff for their swift action. There is much work to be done with the Cranes & Derricks Unit, and we are in the midst of a full operational overhaul. Our number one priority is to ensure the Department’s staff conduct their jobs with the utmost integrity as we continue to forge ahead with our reforms."
· City’s Top Crane Inspector Is Arrested [City Room]
· Crane Collapse coverage [Curbed]
CITY HALL—At an afternoon press conference, Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and acting Buildings Department Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced a sweeping overhaul of the DOB's oversight of construction sites. And the smackdown hath cometh! There are plenty of increased safety and enforcement tweaks (Project Safety Monitors will be assigned to sites with troubled histories), but the biggest headline appears to be that all general contractors and subcontractors will need to obtain a safety control number, so that the DOB can monitor them more closely. Too many screw-ups and that number can be suspended or revoked, essentially crippling that firm or company's ability to do business. Of course, all of this legislation needs to get passed, but you'd best believe Blooomberg is cracking the whip on this one. Some highlights of the proposals...
[The crane being assembled on April 19th; photo via Flickr/seth_holladay]
The construction worker seriously injured in last week's Upper East Side crane collapse (his chest was slashed open) that killed two fellow workers is recovering and already back on his feet, according to a Post report. Andy Simeone was released from the hospital on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Times has an update on the investigation into the collapse, which officials now believe was caused by a faulty weld job on the crane turntable when it was repaired last year. Prosecutors seized documents and computers from the offices of the crane's owner, New York Crane and Equipment. The Azure job was the first for the turntable since its repair, but it reportedly has been tested and inspected on two occasions by specialists, and certified both times.
· Documents Said to Be Seized From Crane Owner’s Offices [NYT]
· Crane Victim on the Mend [NYP]
· Crane Collapse coverage [Curbed]
UPPER EAST SIDE—A readers sends an updated photo of the Azure, the site of Friday's deadly crane collapse. He writes: "The standing tower is gone. The workers are removing building materials and will "cap" the top floor and will leave the site." [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—It's St. Vincent's time again. There's a Landmarks Preservation Commission public hearing on the revised plans for the big St. Vincent's expansion. The meeting will cover the revised plan for buildings east of Seventh Avenue, which includes preservation of four existing buildings and the development of new buildings to replace four existing ones and the "hardship application" for demolition of the O'Toole Building and construction of a new hospital on the site. The hospital's last appearance before the LPC did not yield gratifying results. We're certain it will be a quiet meeting at which few strong opinions are voiced. [CurbedWire Inbox]
There have been many headlines and follow-up reports in the wake of the Upper East Side crane collapse on 91st Street that killed two construction workers and seriously injured another, but the biggest one could be that the Manhattan district attorney's office has opened a criminal investigation into the matter. The Timesreports that the crane's turntable—which connects the cab and boom to the crane tower and allows for the 360-degree movement—may have been damaged last year and then inappropriately put back into service. Meanwhile, the use of Kodiak cranes has been suspended in the city, putting the brakes on four other high-profile jobs: 245 Tenth Avenue, W Hotel & Residences, The Laurel and—ouch—808 Columbus Avenue.
As Saturday gets underway, check out a selection of some of the top stories on Curbed this week.
1) Upper East Side: The second deadly crane collapse since March woke us up in an unpleasant way at 333 E. 91st Street. The immediate cause was unclear, but the Azure Condo had built up a record with the Department of Buildings.
In his briefing, Mayor Bloomberg said one person was killed and two were seriously injured. All three are construction workers, and one pedestrian had minor injuries. No one is still trapped in the wreckage, and the cause of the crane break is still unclear. The crane was jumped over the weekend, and a DOB employee was there to oversee the work.
Like many buildings where dramatic things happen, 333 E. 91st Street where this morning's crane collapse happened, has left a trail of complaints, violations and Stop Work Orders at the Department of Buildings. Some of them are related to the crane itself, although none may be directly related to today's awful accident. On April 23 a Stop Work Order was issued for the crane (with a notation about "operating crane in an unsafe manner") and it appears there was a full lifting of the Stop Work Order only yesterday. The day after the April order, there was a complaint that the crane was still operating. The most recent complaint came in on May 20 as "CALLER STS THERE IS A CRANE APPROX 12 STORIES UP AND THERE IIS A PLATFORM THAT EXTENDS ACROSS SIDEWALK AND WELL INTO TRAFFIC WITHEQUIPMENT ON IT." An inspector was dispatched and found "no action necessary" and "no unsafe conditions." On May 13, there was a complain that "building construction site is unsafe. Bricks, sand and wood fell from the site onto s/w and street." An inspector went to the building four days later and found that no debris was falling. There are also about a dozen more mundane complaints for after-hours work and noise.
While we continue to update our coverage of this morning's deadly crane collapse at The Azure, a new development under construction on East 91st, a brief look back. As a building resident told WCBS a few moments ago, "As the saying goes, if it happens once, it's your fault—well, not your fault—and if it happens twice, c'mon, look around."
So what if it's happened at least five times in the last few years? Herewith, a brief history of notable construction accidents, with crane collapses in red.
A crane has collapsed at a construction site on East 91st and First Avenue, which looks to us like the location of the 34-story Azure condo building at 333 East 91st Street. Initial reports say two people were killed in the accident, and the crane operator was injured. 1010 WINS reports that the crane fell on a building below.
8:45am: From a tipster, "Looks like the Azure on 91st & 1st has decided to share its lovely new crane with the rest of the neighborhood. Other buildings have been hit and emergency vehicles are EVERYWHERE!"
8:55am: Gothamist writes, "The FDNY is reporting two fatalities at this point. Apparently the top of a crane--including the cab-- fell off (possibly 20-25 stories) and hit a building across the street (it looks like a penthouse across the street has a corner taken out of it)." [Gothamist]
WABC 7's live shot shows FDNY hauling a body away. It is unclear of this is a third fatality or one of the reported two.
9:01am: On May 20, a 311 caller reported unsafe conditions at the crane. A DOB inspector was dispatched, and the report states "NO ACTION NECESSARY NO UNSAFE CONDITIONS." According to news reports, an inspector was last at the site on Wednesday. [DOB]
9:17am: Numerous on-the-scene photos are flooding in. Broker-blogger Andrew Fine is at the site, and some of his camera-phone shots can be seen above. ANIMAL and New York have some dramatic close-up photos as well. The building that took the brunt of the damage appears to be 1749 First Avenue, with numerous damaged terraces (Andrew Fine says 10 or so) and what looks like, yikes, a partially crushed penthouse. A corner of the building near street level has been ripped out.
City Room is now reporting, "A law enforcement official confirmed that appeared at least one person, the cab operator, was killed in the collapse." [City Room]
The Azure, the building at 333 E. 91st St that suffered the deadly crane collapse this morning, is being marketed as "The Elegant Choice." The DeMatteis Organizations, one of the developers has been involved in the Chelsea Tower and the Museum Tower. The Mattone Group is a huge property management firm. The Azure is a generic UES luxe 34-story building with studios starting at $605,800 and 5BRs topping out at $4.873 million. Per the promo copy on the site "You'll exalt in the space light and airiness of your new home." The building offers a standard amenity package like a roof terrace, children's play room, fitness center, concierge, personal chef services, dog walking, cat sitting, etc. A school was demolished to make way for the Azure, so the new building also includes one. It's in the red brick building in the rendering above with the flag atop it. Oh, and there will be a glass art wall in the lobby once they get the mess cleaned up.
· The Azure [azureny.com]
TURTLE BAY—Acting DOB commish Robert LiMandri released a statement today following a review of zoning approvals given to 303 East 51st Street, where a crane collapse killed seven people back in March. Like his predecessor, LiMandri says the building was approved in error: "Based on this now completed review, which included the previous decisions made regarding approvals, the Department’s Deputy Commissioner for Technical Affairs—our chief zoning expert—has determined that the proposed construction plans do not comply with the law and must be changed." The statement says that if the developer doesn't address the DOB's concerns within 10 business days, the building permit will be revoked. So, the lesson here: kill seven people, you're still good to go. Inept DOB approves your illegal permits: you've got problems! [CurbedWire Inbox]
TURTLE BAY—Meanwhile, in non-fatal Turtle Bay construction snafus, Extell's 212 East 47th Street was slapped with a partial stop work order for—brace—plumbing work without a permit! Writes a tipster, "Buyers are upset because this might create closing delays." Yawn. [CurbedWire Inbox]
NOLITA—A special Curbed correspondent sends in this shot of a sign outside BApple Realty on Prince Street in Soho. Desperate times? [CurbedWire Inbox]
TURTLE BAY—Over at 303 East 51st Street, the site of the tragic and fatal crane collapse that touched off a wave of overdevelopment criticism and a high-profile resignation or two, a reader has some questions: "I live near the crane collapse site and walk by it every day on my way to work. It’s been more than a month since the crane collapse, and now the site is quiet. No workers, just a security guard. I also noticed that Reliance Construction Group has vacated its storefront office on Second Avenue between 51 and 52 (they were using the former space of a restaurant called Fusia). What’s going to happen to the site? Will it basically remain in limbo for years? And is Reliance Construction Group out of the picture?" [CurbedWire Inbox]
So now, developers, builders and unions are complaining that the the city's safety crackdown is so tough that, in the words of today's Times, it "is causing unnecessary delays and layoffs at some major construction sites, including the Goldman Sachs headquarters downtown." There have been a variety of safety sweeps since the crane accident on East 51 Street that killed seven people and a study is underway in the post-Patricia Lancaster era at the Department of Buildings. Apparently, DOB "has pushed inspectors to issue stop-work orders when they find safety violations as a way of forcing contractors to deal with safety issues." Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, suggest that Stop Work Orders are being issued for reasons that go beyond public safety and that "Some contractors have even suggested that stop-work orders are being used as a form of punishment." There was a mass yesterday at St. Patrick's for the 13 workers killed in construction accidents so far this year.
· Mourning Construction Workers, and Fearing More Shutdowns [NYT]
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1) James Delayo, the Buildings Department crane inspector arrested on Friday for taking bribes and selling copies of a crane operators' exam, was released on his own recognizance after appearing in court. The charges against him include bribe-receiving and tampering with public records, both felonies that could carry seven year prison terms (and can we tack on some extra time for wearing a bandana as a belt?). The 26-year DOB veteran, who was promoted following the March 15 crane collapse that killed seven, allegedly took money in exchange for issuing licenses to Class C crane operators (smaller than the tower cranes that have been falling on the city) that worked for Nu-Way Crane Service in Copiague. Delayo has been suspended without pay. ['Top City Crane Inspector Accused of Taking Bribes'/NYT]
The Buildings Department's acting chief crane inspector was arrested today on corruption charges. The arrest comes a week after a 
TURTLE BAY—Acting DOB commish Robert LiMandri released a statement today following a review of zoning approvals given to 303 East 51st Street, where a 
So now, developers, builders and unions are complaining that the the city's safety crackdown is so tough that, in the words of today's Times, it "is causing unnecessary delays and layoffs at some major construction sites, including the Goldman Sachs headquarters downtown." There have been a 