Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
DOB Hopes More Inspectors Will Help Stem Blunders
By
Dave Hogarty
Published May 19, 2008
Modified May 19, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published May 19, 2008
Modified May 19, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Bloomberg administration has augmented the Dept. of Buildings' budget by $5 million next year in order to hire an additional 63 building inspectors. It will bring the total number of inspectors to 461, versus 277 in 2002. The move comes on the heels of publicized events of fatal mishaps.
Patricia Lancaster resigned last month as commissioner. Though she was brought in to streamline the notoriously inept and corrupt department, her leadership was questioned after more construction workers died in the first four months of 2008 than in all of 2007. After the Midtown crane collapse which left seven construction workers and one civilian dead, Lancaster admitted approval for the buildings construction never should have even been issued, and a crane inspector quit after admitting faking a report certifying that everything was A-OK at the site. In March, a vacant building in Harlem completely collapsed and the DOB admitted it knew the building was an imminent danger but failed to follow up on securing the building or protecting the public.
Over the weekend, sheet metal plunged from the under-construction Goldman Sachs headquarters, into an outfield where Little Leaguers were playing baseball. And a steel disc was dropped from the under-dismantling Deutsche Bank Building, which has been been a literal death trap since the 9/11 attacks.
NYC - Civic Center: The Sun Clock, by wallyg at flickr
Tagged
accidents
crane collapse
department of buildings
deutsche
goldman sachs
inspectors
Patricia Lancaster
Dave Hogarty
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Remote learning day for NYC schools means remote chance of learning, parents say
The remote day kicked off with a familiar ritual that began in the pandemic: kids struggling to log on.
By
Jessica Gould
Published Nov 3, 2026 at 3:23 p.m. ET
MTA posts record riders over Halloween, marathon week
The numbers highlight the MTA’s continuing post-pandemic recovery as it has campaigned to get people back on the trains after the COVID pandemic.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
MTA posts record riders over Halloween, marathon week
The numbers highlight the MTA’s continuing post-pandemic recovery as it has campaigned to get people back on the trains after the COVID pandemic.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Floyd Bennett Field gets $10M for project to reopen historic hangars
By
Rosemary Misdary
Trump administration sends election monitors to NYC, NJ
By
Catalina Gonella
Child dies in raging Upstate New York measles outbreak
By
Caroline Lewis
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .