Editorial from the New York Time- Speaks of Increasing fines and income for the city and doesn't advocate removal of contractor violations

Even the New York Times believes that Bloomerg is fixing this..They're suggesting that constuction proceed at the current pace without stopping bulders who make violations.
Just raise the fines says the TIMES... Yeah thats gonna work....NOT!


"New Yorkers were rightly appalled when shortly after the second of this year’s two deadly crane accidents, the city’s chief crane inspector was charged with taking bribes. The disclosure suggests that the city’s Buildings Department, which is supposed to prevent unsafe construction, may be a large part of the problem.

The Bloomberg administration and the City Council have proposed good reforms, including tracking contractors’ safety records, shutting down repeat offenders and heavier fines — all designed to hold builders more accountable. Extra training for crane operators would become mandatory.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg deserves credit for doubling the number of building inspectors, but the more than 400 now on the job is still about half the number on duty a decade ago. That is not enough to monitor New York City’s construction boom, and the new mandates will put further pressure on an ill-equipped agency.

New Yorkers are especially worried about crane safety; nine of the fatalities came in crane accidents. The city has depended on just four crane inspectors, who cannot possibly keep up with the 200 or so cranes used citywide. Beefing up their ranks needs to be a priority. We also would like to see stringent checks on cranes by qualified specialists and a system — similar to those for used cars — that tracks repairs. The investigation of last month’s accident on Manhattan’s East 91st Street is still going on, but some reports suggest that the mishap may have been caused by a bad weld on a crane part.

There also needs to be tougher penalties for builders who run unsafe work sites. Right now, the fines are so low that contractors see them as one more cost of doing business. Any contractor involved in bribing an official should face criminal charges and be stripped of the right to build in New York.

Major construction projects will never be completely without risk. But the city needs to do a lot more to reassure the public that it is doing its level best on safety."