One of the senior partners at Trolman, Glaser and Lichtman brings to light issues on Staten Island with the Department Of Buildings and safety problems that are arising from buildings that should be condemned but are allowed to stay open. Due to various issues with the law, some twenty percent of buildings on the city’s “Multi-Hazardous Re-Inspection Program” are allowed to remain open. From Jeff Lichtman:
Thanks to an audit by the City Comptroller William Thompson we now know that many serious building and property violations that were discovered in the past have been unresolved. Construction site deaths have been higher in the first 6 months of this year than all of last year. The citizens of New York are entitled to public safety, and in the even they are not provided such safety, the civil justice system is the means by which they can redress the wrongs.
Hopefully the city will do everything in it’s power to make sure that unsafe buildings are being attended to so that the sites are as safe as possible.