Monday, February 11, 2008
Sidewalk Protective Shed Collapses in Front of St. Brigids Church on Avenue B...
FDNY inspect collapsed structure
FDNY inspect a portion of the structure at one end that did not collapse .
ABOVE and BELOW : FDNY search collapsed structure for injured persons
Sometime between 10 pm and 11 pm Sunday night the sidewalk protective shed ( scaffolding to some ) collapsed . The shed had been placed in front of St. Brigids church in preparation for the demolition of the church 2 summers ago .
As a cold wind blew torturing all members of the service at the site NYPD closed-off avenue B to all traffic and FDNY searched for injured persons that might have been caught in the collapse .
Fortunately no one was injured .
The cause of the collapse was probably high winds . Likely a gust of wind picked up a portion of the structure and then dropped it back down precipitously causing a column or two to slip off their blocking . This allowed the structure to tilt and pull the entire length of the structure down .
This structure ,as are all temporary structures , was supposed to be designed and assembled to successfully tolerate high winds . The structure was supposed to to be attatched to earth or an adjacent building to provide for resistance to the kind of lifting that probably caused the collapse .
FDNY noted at the site that the structure was not secured to the ground or the church building .
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this has been happening with more regularity of late. these scaffoldings seem to hardly ever be fastened to the ground, quickly built throughout the city without inspection and by unskilled labor.
I'm glad no one got hurt. I called 311 6 mos ago because the scaffolding was leaning, making it impossible for 2 people to walk side by side on the sidewalk.
# posted by 
: 10:21 AM
: 10:21 AM
The scaffolding was rarely lit, another violation. It was never maintained properly.
# posted by : 10:38 AM
: 10:38 AM
Yes the entire structure was poorly built , sloppy , and you are correct the lights did not always work which is of course a violation of the applicable portions of the city building code .
Unfortunately the poor workmanship , lack of maintenance , and inattention to the code and safety issues is all common in NYC today ....whether sidewalk sheds or actual buildings
Unfortunately the poor workmanship , lack of maintenance , and inattention to the code and safety issues is all common in NYC today ....whether sidewalk sheds or actual buildings
The few hundreds that the city fines a developer, contractor, or property owner is usually less than it would cost to fix the issues, and is considered 'just part of doing business.' You see the same mentality when there are building code violations such as overbuilding past filed plans, or going past airspace rights. $50g in fines is cheap if it means you can build another floor higher.
# posted by : 12:52 PM
: 12:52 PM
In truth there is no law because what law there is , is only rarely seriously enforced and when it is enforced the punishment is usually inconsequential .
The court ( environment control board ) that enforces the law is only an administrative court and thus is not empowered as a true criminal court would be to enforce the law .The current administration seems to like it this way too so there is little likelihood of change .Developers know all of this and are thus "officially encouraged by DOB and the current Bloomberg administration to do whatever they want .
For instance look at the building profile for Benjamin Shaouls 120 St. Marks Place ; notice the more than $20000 in unpaid fines , the 7 outstanding violations and the lack of a currently valid C of O .
Or take a look at the profile for 110 3rd ave where the crane collapsed a bit more than a year ago . There has as of yet been no disciplining of any of the parties responsible for that collapse other than a $1500 fine for Tishman construction .
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The court ( environment control board ) that enforces the law is only an administrative court and thus is not empowered as a true criminal court would be to enforce the law .The current administration seems to like it this way too so there is little likelihood of change .Developers know all of this and are thus "officially encouraged by DOB and the current Bloomberg administration to do whatever they want .
For instance look at the building profile for Benjamin Shaouls 120 St. Marks Place ; notice the more than $20000 in unpaid fines , the 7 outstanding violations and the lack of a currently valid C of O .
Or take a look at the profile for 110 3rd ave where the crane collapsed a bit more than a year ago . There has as of yet been no disciplining of any of the parties responsible for that collapse other than a $1500 fine for Tishman construction .
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