Toughen Code, Fines
More Buildings Staff To Aid Enforcement

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The Bloomberg administration last week announced a series of building and construction code reforms, pledging to improve oversight and safety in part by spending $6 million to hire 67 more employees at the Department of Buildings.

CLAUDE FORT: Pay in-house staff more.

City officials said the overhaul was long due and that the crisis had deepened during the massive building boom over the past several years. A record 116,947 permits were issued for new buildings or alterations in 2006, a 36-percent increase from 2002.

'Hasn't Had Resources'

"For too long, the Buildings Department didn't have the resources or the tools necessary to effectively ensure safety and compliance," said Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference. "We've committed to not only improving and modernizing the code, but also to stepping up enforcement efforts."

A Daily News investigation in May uncovered a massive level of corruption and unsafe practices in the construction industry, both in city-funded housing and developments by private companies. It also detailed the use of non-union labor that has resulted in dangerous conditions and numerous job-related deaths and injuries.

The new plan calls for hiring 14 field inspectors and engineers who would scrutinize excavation sites before complaints were made to prevent the kind of collateral damage to nearby properties that has occurred at an increasing number of sites.

The Buildings Department will also set up two teams comprised of 21 Investigators, lawyers, Inspectors, Plan Examiners and Engineers to monitor contractors who have shoddy work records. The teams are designed to be able to quickly impose Stop-Work Orders for minor and major code violations.

Much-Stiffer Fines

The first code update in almost 40 years will increase maximum fees for violations from $5,000 to $25,000 for immediately hazardous conditions. Builders will pay $10,000 for major violations.

Another 29 workers will be hired to perform inspections and audits on plans submitted by companies, architects and engineers seeking to construct or significantly alter a building.

Three staff lines exist for hiring management directors.

"We have been advising them to hire more staff for several years," said Civil Service Technical Guild President Claude Fort, who represents the city's Plan Examiners, Engineers and Inspectors.

Mr. Fort added that staff turnover in the Buildings Department is often high, as employees leave the city to make significantly more money in the private sector. He said the city has had to hire people above base salary levels in order to compete with private companies. In some cases, that has led to senior employees helping to train new workers who are making higher wages.

"I think they need to staff up and at the same time increase the salaries of the incumbents," Mr. Fort said. "Otherwise they will continue to lose people and their expertise to the private sector."