and safety issues.
“After 10 months of shoddy construction practices, hundreds of formal complaints to city agencies, and now the forced evacuation of hundreds of residents, the curtain must be brought down on this construction project,” said Borough President Stringer. “Park West Village is a model community of diverse New Yorkers, many of them longtime residents. We will not stand by as this private developer wreaks havoc on their lives. And we will not sacrifice the safety or quality of life of a single New Yorker to this construction.”
The Department of Buildings confirmed that “blasting operations conducted earlier [on Wednesday] may have led to the collapse” of the retaining wall. A portion of the foundation of 784 Columbus Avenue was exposed by the retaining wall collapse.
The Department of Buildings has issued violations for failure to protect the public to the developer, Gluck and Chitret, and to the project manager, Gotham Construction Corporation. Mayrich Construction Corporation, the foundation contractor, has been ordered to backfill the area that collapsed. “This is of grave concern because it may have been prevented,” said Congressman Charlie Rangel. “For months, I have joined other elected officials in calling for attention to be paid to the development and for the appropriate studies to be conducted to ensure the safety of area residents.”
Said City Councilmember Melissa Mark Viverito, “"The Council has been working to reform our city's building regulations, but what happened here on Wednesday demonstrates that we still have a long way to go. We're hoping to move forward in a proactive way to enact needed reforms that will ensure the safety of every New Yorker.”
Borough President Stringer is also asking the Buildings Department to consider revoking the building permit for the site based on the developer’s plans to restrict access to open space, the relocation of parking spaces without required public review and the relocation of curb cuts that would add dangerous driveways to a block where a school and a medical facility are located.
"It is crucial that all work be stopped immediately, except safety related work to secure the compromised area, everywhere within the three Gotham Construction areas near Park West Village,” said Senator Bill Perkins. “There should also be an immediate moratorium on the issuance of permits for self-certified projects while this situation is under investigation, to insure that this does not happen ever again.” “We hope that as a result of this terrible accident, the developer will finally acknowledge his personal interest in inviting ALL community stakeholders to the community planning table," said Paul S. Bunten, a community advocate.
Winifred Armstrong, a resident of Park West Village for 37 years, said, “The wider issue is the inappropriateness of what is being built and how. The builders, the citizens, and the City need a process that relates new construction in ways that build on and with existing communities. So far in Park West Village we’ve failed.”
Another Park West Village resident, Dorri Jacobs, said, “I have allergic asthma. I hardly ever used medication before, but since the construction started I have to use it everyday, often several times a day. I have to keep the air conditioning on 24/7 or I can’t breathe. It’s unbearable.”
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