By Al Barbarino 3/25 3:11pm

Controversies

Joe Chetrit (Credit: Mathew Katz/DNAinfo)

Another Setback for Joe Chetrit at Chelsea Hotel: Speaker Quinn Alleges Tenant Harassment

The Department of Buildings ordered Joseph Chetrit to stop work at the Chelsea Hotel on Friday night, one day after City Council Speaker Christine Quinn sent a scathing letter asking the developer to do so, The Real Deal reports.

The order, the latest of a series of setbacks at the property, followed complaints from tenants that heat and gas service had been shut off at the site, leading DOB inspectors, a range of other city organizations and ConEdison to visit the site on Friday.

“HPD will be issuing violations for no heat and hot water and no gas as these conditions have not yet been addressed by ownership,” one city official told The Real Deal.

Once a mecca for bohemians, artists, writers and musicians, from Bob Dylan to Charles Bukowski to Iggy Pop, the famed “hotel” undergoes its own transformation, to the chagrin of some.

Ms. Quinn, in her letter, recalled the outstanding violation against Mr. Chetrit that was issued after construction workers broke through a tenant’s ceiling.

“You must stop this blatant harassment of your tenants,” Quinn wrote. Read More

By Al Barbarino 1/31 2:13pm

Post-Tropical Storm Sandy

Sandy barrels toward the northeast (Credit: NASA)

City Stretches Zoning Code to Address Growing Concern Over Climate Change

The city announced today that it is implementing new measures that will stretch current zoning codes in order to help property owners update buildings to meet new flood standards in the wake of Hurricane Sandy — and in the face of climate change.

The measures will allow home and building owners to rebuild destroyed properties and meet new safety standards. They are also intended to limit the cost of future federal flood insurance premiums by better protecting properties in flood-prone areas.

“We are beginning the process of updating our building code and zoning regulations so that new construction meets standards that reflect the best available data about flood and climate risks,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.  “This is particularly important for homes and businesses damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy – and the rules we are putting in place today will enable them to rebuild and re-open safely.” Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 2/28/12 3:33pm

Law and Order

Wreckage from the May 2008 Crane Collapse on E. 91st St.

DOB Wanted to Cuff Crane Owner James Lomma for Shoddy Crane Upkeep

The former head of the Department of Building’s cranes and derricks division said that crane owner James Lomma should have been arrested for poorly maintaining two tower cranes in 2007.

During her testimony at Mr. Lomma’s manslaughter trial in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday, former DOB official Bethany Klein said that the head of New York Crane & Equipment Corp. had failed to make two crucial repairs to the two cranes, one of which eventually collapse and kill two men at the E. 91st street accident in 2008.  Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 2/27/12 2:34pm

Accidents

Elevator victim Suzanne Hart (courtesy of Facebook)

Elevator That Killed Young & Rubicam Executive Had Dodgy Safety Protocols, City Confirms

The city Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigation announced the findings today from their investigation into the deadly 2011 elevator accident at 285 Madison Avenue that killed Young & Rubicam executive Suzanne Hart in rather horrific fashion, and both agencies confirmed that maintenance workers failed to repair the elevator up to city safety standards days prior to the incident. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 2/22/12 9:00am

Crime and Punishment

Wreckage from Upper East Side Crane Collapse.

Trial Begins for Operator Involved in Fatal Upper East Side Crane Collapse

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office yesterday opened up its manslaughter trial against the owner of a construction crane involved in a 2008 accident that killed two workers, and prosecutors said it was that man’s greed that lead to the fatal crane collapse, according to the Associated Press.

Prosecutors painted James Lomma, the head of New York Crane & Equipment Corp., as a man who passed on a crucial repair job on the faulty crane in favor of the bottom line. Read More