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but is anyone calling for higher taxes to pay for better government

whip bloomberg!

What was happening during a collapse? …a rather simple minded question. “The building was being built.” A matter of fact 100% accurate answer. I’m right there with you Chris O on the way the mayor addresses a situation. It has been three and a half hours, THREE AND A HALF HOURS!!! since the collapse. Who knows all of the facts of what happen after an incident like this, especially since the one person who may know exactly what happen is dead. What other answer could Bloomberg have given to what happen during the collapse? Cars were on the street? People were on the sidewalk? Ms. Elizabeth Nobody of 388 E. 91 St. was kissing her daughter good-bye after dropping her of for school, only to get struck down in the prime of her life? What kind of soft-news human-interest BS do you people want? A crane was building a high-rise in a city of high rises. Construction is extremely dangerous, accidents do happen, and people WILL die. The job of the DOB/mayor are to protect public health and safety and minimize the number accidents like these, not predict the future and insure that no one anywhere in any way is never ever ever ever a victim. Why don’t we just bulldoze the city, ban movement of any kind, and cover all land and water in inert, suffocation-proof, environmentally-friendly, hypoallergenic, kid-proof fluff so nothing bad ever happens.

#20

Amen, start throwing them in jail. Will there be any accountability for this at all?

You ever hear of patience. People want information that is just not available yet, immediate gratification.

Wow, Bloomberg just sounds annoyed, as if people are being unreasonable for demanding information. This, I think, is an unacceptable response from a mayor. Unbelievable. This is unacceptable.

I like that Bloomberg says the non-political thing like, "There will always be deaths..." or whatever he may have said. Better than, "Never again will a spouse, a mother, have to face the news that their loved one was killed in a collapse..." or other political pablum, trite seemingly high-minded language. I really like that he does not cater in that way.

That said, NYC is more rapidly becoming the home of the super-rich and it seems his major concern is accelerating this and keeping the money wheel going around.

Hey Bloomy,

New Yorkers are beginning to feel as if we're more in danger of a crane falling on us than being killed by a terrorist attack!

I know a really good way to stop these accidents from happening: start throwing these unethical contractors and owners of construction companies in jail. when they realize that it's not ok for people to die in these preventable accidents, they will all of a sudden clean up their act.

Does Bloomberg realize someone died?

Once again, Mayor Bloomberg shows utter contempt for the people of New York. Reporter asks what was happening at the time of collapse, he answers that the building was being put up.

Bloomberg asserts that there will always be deaths. I'm sure that makes New York workers and the public generally feel better.

What a revolting little toad Bloomberg is. He should be ashamed.

ho hum, money and development trumps life again especially the lives of lowly workers. Listening to Billionaire-Bloomberg makes me absolutely sick.

thank goodness this is his last term as mayor. Do you really want a businessman to be your mayor? president? governor? I don't. This guy's interested in the financial side of things. Blechhhh!

was the crane made in china??

no more cranes! no more building! no more development!

My previous post wasn’t directed at any of the comments on this page, but at all of the “we don’t know yets” or “it’s not clears” in the reporting of the story. Especially since the basics are readily available online.

Maybe a Follow-Up Friday topic:

Residences being built over new schools. Developers are using the lure of / need for new schools to push through the building of lucrative residential developments.

It's happening in Dumbo right now. Two Trees development co. is proposing a huge building right next to the Brooklyn Bridge that opponents say would severely disrupt the open view of the Bridge from the Brooklyn side. But supporters say the new middle school is so necessary that it doesn't matter.

Big debate here in Dumbo. Surely it's happening all over the city.

Check it out: http://dumbonyc.com/2008/05/28/dock_st_school/

- Amy in Brooklyn

Oh come on! I didn't want to say anything but a 5-10 minute Google (or 1010, or NYTimes)search could have rendered the names of the contractor, the development name, the architects, the DOB record, etc...
Before babbling on, a little research, please.

small government BAD!!!

Building upon Nick's DOB info, have a look at the list of 311 complaints made against the construction site. 67 is the category code for complaints related to the use of a crane. Granted, given heightened anxiety, people may be making more crane complaints than usual, but there are a number of 67 complaints here:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ComplaintsByAddressServlet?requestid=0&allbin=1050218

I heard from TV news that the building under construction - the Azure- includes a 35 story high rise and a middle school. A resident of the damaged building who was interviewed by NY One indicated that he noticed that the crane had been jacked up higher over the weekend. He expressed his concerns that it didn't seem safe but was assured by the crew that there was no need to worry.

According to city records, the company that is building the Azure is the Leon D. DeMatteis Construction Corporation of Elmont, on Long Island.

Brian just asked this morning about the contractor/owner of the construction in question where the crane collapsed. Google Maps shows a street view of the corner, and the sign there (if Google has current photos) show the name, DEMATTEIS, of Elmont, NY. The "coming soon" sign states: "Azure, 34 floor luxury coop."

Address - 333 East 91st
Name - Azure
Developer - The DeMatteis Organization and The Mattone Group
Architect - SLCE Architects

Sources: Curbed.com and Azure website

london bridge is falling down.

from nytimes.com:

The building under construction was the Azure, a high-rise condominium tower; about 12 of the 34 planned stories had been completed. According to city records, the company that is building the Azure is the Leon D. DeMatteis Construction Corporation of Elmont, on Long Island.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/nyregion/30cnd-crane.html

Azure highrise

http://www.condomod.com/2008/03/03/azure/

DOB info

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?houseno=0333&street=EAST%2091%20STREET&boro=1

THe Crane Developer:
The DeMatteis Organizations are a group of family owned and managed businesses that were began in 1918 by Leon DeMatteis in Brooklyn, New York. His son Frederick was Chairman of the Organization that is now led by his two sons, Richard F. DeMatteis, President and Scott L. DeMatteis, Senior Executive Vice President.

From the Times website:

According to city records, the company that is building the Azure is the Leon D. DeMatteis Construction Corporation of Elmont, on Long Island. A call to the sales office of 1765 First Associates L.L.C., a subsidiary of DeMatteis, was not immediately returned.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/crane-collapses-on-upper-east-side/index.html?hp

As a cyclist, my complaint with the cranes and the massive construction boom of massive structures is that they do massive damage to the road. I am talking cracks, bumps, holes and just very dangerous terrain for a cyclist to navigate through, unless on a mountain bike.