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Lessons from Deutsche Bank


Untitled Document

August 18 was a tragic reminder of the dangers associated with rebuilding our community six years after September 11, 2001. Two firefighters, Robert Beddia and Joe Graffagnino, needlessly died putting out a fire at 130 Liberty Street at a building that had long sparked controversy.

The History of a Troubled Site

 

When Community Board 1 urged the adoption of an emergency and community notification plan in October 2005, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation told the board that residents should "call 911."

Unsatisfied with this clearly problematic answer, Chairperson Julie Menin wrote to then President Stefan Pryor of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation regarding the need to expeditiously implement a codified community notification plan with phone trees. We proposed a myriad of ideas, including email blasts, building captains and two-way hand-held radios. Unfortunately, the letter received no response.

 

On April 18, 2006, Community Board 1 unanimously passed a resolution expressing our serious concerns about the safety record of Bovis Lend Lease’s subcontractor, John Galt Corporation. Specifically, the board questioned the poor safety record of John Galt and one of its affiliates.

In addition, Community Board 1 had pulled out of a Lower Manhattan Development Corporation sponsored “open house” on October 24, 2005 when the previous corporation's administration under Governor George Pataki would not let the community ask questions publicly.

The Actions Since The Fire

In light of the most recent tragedy at Ground Zero, we once again met with state and local leaders to discuss the need for a notification and an emergency plan.

 

Three days following the fire, Community Board 1 members met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center and other elected officials. At that meeting, we discussed the need for a notification and emergency plan to be in place and our concern with Bovis Lend Lease and their subcontractor John Galt, as we had done numerous times in the past.

 

Community Board 1 held an emergency public hearing following that meeting, which also included representatives from numerous city, state and federal offices, such as the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, the Bloomberg administration, the Community Assistance Unit, Department of Buildings, the fire department, Office of Emergency Management, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, the federal Occupational Safety Health Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2.

 

More than 100 downtown community members attended, serving as a true testament to the dedication and concern downtown residents have about our community. The meeting not only gave the downtown community an opportunity to hear directly from the agencies involved but also resulted in many productive initial steps.

First, we urged that John Galt [which has since been fired] be removed from the job, given the numerous Occupational Safety Health Administration violations and buildings department complaints against it. (Although Bovis Lend Lease and John Galt were specifically invited, they failed to appear much to the consternation of the community). [Bovis has since agreed to meet with Community Board 1 and other elected officials.]

Second, at this meeting Edward Skyler, the deputy mayor for administration, and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Chairman Avi Schick committed to meet with Community Board 1 immediately to devise a community notification plan.

Third, we voiced our strong concerns that the Deutsche Bank building be immediately resealed without any delay.

Fourth, fire inspection teams will be evaluating the fire-fighting systems inside two other buildings that will be shortly decontaminated and deconstructed/rehabilitated -- Fiterman Hall at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and 130 Cedar Street, respectively.

Where We Go From Here

 

Although we all want the 130 Liberty Street building to be taken down, we have requested that it be done in a manner that is safe for both the workers, first responders and the people who live and work nearby. The next steps include:

1. Secure the fire-damaged, World Trade Center-contaminated building so that debris will not fall out and injure someone. [Two firefighters were injuredlast Thursday at the site when a John Galt worker lost control of a forklift and it toppled from the building].

2. Determine why the fire occurred and put in place a plan so that it will never happen again. Such a plan should mandate that the water main that supplies water to the building and various floors would be functioning during the remainder of this difficult project.

3. Develop a contingency plan for various emergencies – including fighting a fire – and make sure that as work proceeds in this building the response team is given the floor plans as they change.

4. Create an effective communication plan from city agencies to neighborhood residents and businesses – consider text messaging, a phone tree, reverse 911, televised announcements and e-mail blasts in real time. Such communications should include whether residents/workers should evacuate or stay in their homes or at work, whether they need emergency breathing apparatus and if a building is in danger of collapse.

5. Determine whether the fire re-contaminated the previously decontaminated area, and if so, require such area to be re-cleaned and re-inspected prior to demolition.

6. Review the impact of water damage from putting out the fire so that mold will not be an issue in the remaining hot days of summer.

7. Hire a responsible subcontractor to replace John Galt -- one that, as required by the Procurement Policy Board Rules of the City of New York, is capable "in all respects to perform the contract requirements fully" and has "the business integrity to justify the award of public tax dollars."

8. Require vigilant enforcement of city building, construction, safety, and fire codes and regulations --including no smoking on the construction site.

9. Test residential and work areas in the immediate area and, if necessary, clean them.

It is imperative to take the lessons learned from the 130 Liberty Street tragedy and make sure that they are implemented going forward at that building and at Fiterman Hall and 130 Cedar Street as well.

Unfortunately, our community has already been the target of two terrorist attacks, and if any lesson has been learned, it is that we must prevent a senseless tragedy like this from ever happening again and ensure that the community is protected.

Julie Menin and Catherine McVay Hughes are chairperson and vice-chair of Community Board 1, which includes Ground Zero and the surrounding area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mayor's Legacy: Educational Improvements and Poverty Reduction, Or Bold Budgeting and Economic Development?


What will be Michael Bloomberg's legacy as mayor? Bloomberg has said what he would like it to be - reforming public education in his first term, addressing poverty in his second. But public officials cannot usually control how they are viewed by history, and, while much can happen in the more than three years left to the Bloomberg administration, events over the past few months may wind up helping determine what ultimately will be seen as this mayor's main accomplishments.

What seems likely right now (at least for those of us who pay attention to the city's finances) is that the mayor's legacy will revolve around his bold moves in budgeting - his introduction of a three billion-dollar tax increase in the middle of the fiscal 2003 year, and his unilaterally setting aside $2 billion for a city retirees health fund in 2006 - and in economic development -- his giving of huge subsidies to sports owners and real estate developers, the impacts of which will not be known for decades.

Why Not Poverty?

Mayor Bloomberg appointed a Commission on Economic Opportunity to come up with innovative ideas to address poverty in the city. The commission's initial report is scheduled for release sometime this month.

New data from the United States Census Bureau underscore the potential relevance of Bloomberg's second-term focus on poverty. The city's poverty rate has not changed in the past five years. In Manhattan the earnings of the top fifth of earners ($330,244 on average) are 41 times the earnings of the bottom fifth ($8,019 on average). The Bronx is the poorest urban county in the United States.

Yet some critics now wonder what will come of the mayor's attention. A memo from the leaders of the commission leaked recently to the press suggests that the commission will not be addressing aid to the elderly, the unemployed, the homeless, and those returning from prison.

The implication seems to be that the resources simply are not there to tackle the problems of all those New Yorkers affected by poverty. Rather, the commission's focus reportedly will be on three groups -- children, young adults, and the working poor. And, if little new city money is invested to fight poverty, management reform is likely to be key. For example, the Times noted that food stamp administration will be important for all three of the groups targeted by the commission. Food stamps are fully funded by the federal government, so any expansion of their use is a cost-free reform for the city.

Food stamp use has increased from about 800,000 at the beginning of the mayor's first term in 2002 to nearly 1.1 million today. But this is far from the nearly 1.5 million receiving them in 1995, even though hundreds of thousands more are eligible and in need. The Times also noted that the mayor in March rejected an expansion of food stamp eligibility to unemployed adults proposed by his own social service agency officials.

Education?

The Bloomberg administration instituted a major restructuring of the city's education bureaucracy in his first term. There is not universal agreement on what this has meant for the education of individual students. In the meantime, the Daily News recently reported that the city's education department issued about $120 million in no-bid contracts last year without public review. According to the News, city comptroller data show that this is ten times the amount of no-bid contracts awarded in 2002. School officials responded that these contracts are a only a small fraction of the $3 billion in education contracts, and that such contracts are used only under time constraints, for limited extensions, or for specialized companies.

But the more important point here is that education contracting does not follow the same rules as does other city agency contracting. The schools' deputy chancellor for finance and administration said to the News, "We all work for the mayor.But in terms of actually what this entity is, it's not a city agency." This "entity" follows state, not city contracting rules. This means the city comptroller, who oversees the city's contracting process, has limited powers over the new department of education.

The city comptroller does have audit oversight of the education department, though, and his June audit in one area of contracting - job order contracts that involve expeditious maintenance, repairs, and minor construction work in schools - found "significant weaknesses" in the department's administration of this program, including incomplete work, unsatisfactory work, and failure to meet deadlines. The audit made 24 recommendations for improvement.

Economic Development

Much of the Bloomberg administration's economic development plans have focused on subsidizing stadiums for sports teams - the Jets football team, the Yankees and Mets baseball teams, the Nets basketball team. The stadium for the Jets is a broken dream. The ones for the Yankees and the Mets are being fulfilled, though critics grumble. (It's an interesting sidelight to the story that a report by the city comptroller found the Yankees more than a quarter of a million dollars in arrears in payment to the city for its use of the current city-owned stadium.) The arena for the Nets is a dream not yet realized that critics are broadcasting as a nightmare.

The Forest City Ratner basketball arena and commercial development plan in Brooklyn - controlled by the state's Empire State Development Corporation -- was challenged at a raucous hearing by neighborhood advocates who attacked the size and location of the project. Shortly afterward, the developer reportedly planned to reduce the size of the project; this apparently won over few critics.

Another big development plan faced a new roadblock during the summer. The city's offer to buy the development rights to the MTA's West Side railyards for $500 million will have to overcome a new appraisal that says it's worth $1.5 billion.

On the other hand, the NYC Industrial Development Agency's August 3 hearing on the proposed tax breaks for future West Side Hudson Yards commercial developers (discussed in my August finance column) was followed quickly on August 8 by the agency's approval of the proposal. This deal -- rushed to judgment before the Independent Budget Office or other fiscal monitor could confirm or question the assumptions and fiscal projections - could result in a loss of more than a third of the future property taxes from the area over the next 30 years.

Will these tax breaks stimulate development and wind up generating more revenue for the city? This is what the Bloomberg administration hopes will be part of its legacy.

Glenn Pasanen, who teaches political science at Lehman College, has been in charge of Gotham Gazette's finance topic page since 2001. 

Stated Meeting: Cell Phones, Yes, Markers, No


In muted gesture of defiance of the Bloomberg administration, the City Council last week approved legislation guaranteeing a student's right to take a cell phone to and from school, despite a Department of Education ban on the devices inside school property.

The legislation, however, does not address what occurs inside schools. And despite its overwhelming approval, many question whether the bill will have any effect on the department's policy.

At its stated meeting on July 25, the council also targeted graffiti by restricting the possession of certain markers, etching acid and spray paint and approved several bills that continue the effort to modernize the city's building codes.

A Call for Safety

The overwhelming approval of the cell phone bill (Intro 351) comes after more than a year of hearings and complaints from parents about cell phone confiscations. Under current policy, if a student is found with a cell phone, school officials will take it and return it only to a parent or guardian.

It remains unclear whether the legislation, sponsored by 39 members and spearheaded by Councilmember Lewis Fidler, would change that. The bill may guarantee students' rights to carry a cell phone while en route to school, which they can already do under the current law.

The cell phone frenzy was ignited not when the ban was initially approved, but when the department began enforcing the long-standing rule in 2006. In light of a new security initiative, the city started conducting random screenings at middle and high schools. While searching for weapons, they found the most popular contraband was none other than a cell phone.

School officials contend that cell phones in classrooms can be used to cheat on tests and otherwise serve as a distraction. Following the council vote, the Department of Education released the following statement: "Our policy prohibiting cell phones in schools has not changed. Whether used for talking, messaging, surfing the Web, or taking photos, cell phones inevitably disrupt a school's learning environment."

The legislation is likely to set up a confrontation between the mayor and the council, because Bloomberg is a staunch supporter of the cell phone ban and plans to veto the legislation. That could bring about the sixth veto override in Council Speaker Christine Quinn's tenure.

"The City Council does not have the authority to even pass the law that would change how we do things in the schools," Bloomberg told The Post. "So this doesn't really change anything."

The Bloomberg administration and the City Council have clashed repeatedly over oversight and power sharing in the city's school system since the mayor took over in 2002.

The legislation was approved by a vote of 46 to 2 with council members G. Oliver Koppell and James Sanders dissenting. In supporting the bill, Councilmember Peter Vallone said, "It is not an education issue. It is a public safety issue."

The department's cell phone policy recently landed in court when a group of parents also claimed the prohibition of cell phones in schools was a public safety concern. The state Supreme Court disagreed and upheld the ban. The parents are reportedly appealing the decision.

Vallone said the council's action could bolster the parents’ position in court because it states that any person prevented from carrying a cell phone to and from school "shall be entitled to seek equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction."

As for compliance, Quinn said the issue now rests with the Department of Education. "Yes, they can say no cell phones in the classroom. They can say cell phones shouldn't be on in the classroom," Quinn said. "This bill puts an onus on the Department of Education to make sure that children can have cell phones coming to and from school."

The legislation's approval also comes as the Department of Education prepares to launch a pilot program that would install lockers outside of about 16 schools in the city specifically for storage of cell phones.

Can I See Your ID?

In an effort to suppress graffiti, the council also passed a bill (Intro 576) prohibiting the sale of etching acid (or hydrogen fluoride), broad tipped indelible markers or cans of spray paint to people under 21 years old.

Similar legislation was approved in 2005, but several artists, who contended it violated their first amendment and equal protection rights, successfully challenged it in court.

To try to address the court's concerns, the new legislation, which was sponsored by Vallone and passed by a vote of 46 to 1 with council members Alan Gerson dissenting and Melissa Mark Viverito abstaining, includes several exemptions. People can possess the substances if the tools are used for educational or professional purposes, if they are locked in a sealed container or if the individual has consent from the property owner where the substance is possessed or used.

Building a Better Building's Department

As part of the continuous modernization of the convoluted and confusing code of the city's Department of Buildings, the council approved several bills that create better administrative oversight and include broader safety measures for construction in the city.

The bills, all of which were approved 48 to 0, require general contractors for one, two and three-family homes to register with the department, impose civil and criminal penalties for the illegal conversion of manufacturing buildings to residential use and implement a staggered timetable for building façade inspections.

Currently, according to the bill's (Intro 33) sponsor, James Oddo, the city does not regulate or calculate the amount of single, two or three family homes being constructed in the five boroughs. Under this legislation, contractors would be required to submit information to the buildings department, including their chief officers as well as proof of insurance.

The department will electronically publish the information and include suspensions or revoked registrations that the contractor has incurred, thus warning individuals of contractors who habitually violate the city's construction code.

The illegal conversion of warehouses to lofts is common in areas of the city, like Williamsburg.

The death of firefighter Daniel Pujdak, who fell from an illegally converted warehouse during a fire in Brooklyn last month, focused the city's attention on the hazardous conditions of these conversions. In addition to safety concerns, the conversion of certain buildings to residential use depletes the availability of industrial space, which eventually drives up costs for the manufacturing sector, council members contend.

"We are facing terrible times in the arena of industry, where there was industrial and manufacturing space at one time is no longer the case," said Councilmember Diana Reyna, the bill's main sponsor. "To replace all of the square footage we have lost, it would cost $100 million."

Under the legislation (Intro 34), an individual who illegally converts such a space could be subject to a year in prison and up to $5,000 for the first offense. For subsequent offenses within 18 months, an individual could pay up to $20,000 per conversion.

The council also approved legislation (Intro 550) introduced by Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, which staggers the time of inspections for building facades six stories tall or higher. The mandatory inspections currently are conducted in mass once every five years. Staggering the inspections, would allow engineers and architects to better manage the workload.

Zoning for Preservation

The council also approved rezoning in several neighborhoods, specifically 99 blocks in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, 159 blocks in Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton also in Brooklyn and 64 full blocks and 70 partial in the Bronx neighborhoods of Wakefield and Eastchester. The zoning, which passed by a vote of 48 to 0, attempts to preserve the character of these neighborhoods and protect against overdevelopment.

Bloomberg commended the rezoning approvals for keeping within the sustainability goals of PlaNYC. "Specifically, these plans will catalyze growth on key corridors near transit hubs, fostering nearly 900 units of new housing and strengthening local retail activity," the mayor said in a statement. "At the same time, they protect the scale and character of these lower density neighborhoods."

In response to the mega-development Atlantic Yards, part of the rezoning addresses preserving the commercial corridors of Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street, but also keeps nearby areas of low-rise and historic residential rowhouses intact. The rezoning, according to Councilmember Letitia James, will ensure historic residential properties do not immediately abut gargantuan developments.

Historic Crown Heights

The council also approved a historic district for the North Crown Heights area of Brooklyn by a vote of 48 to 0.The blocks feature Neo-Grec-style homes and Romanesque Revival residences. The designation will help preserve the architectural style of the residences dating back to the 1860s.

 



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