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Department of Buildings

By Matt Chaban 1/12 7:34pm

SOC It to Me

Mayor of the Capital of Innovation. (Getty)

What Does the Mayor Have Planned for Grand Central, and Other Developments from the State of the City

The main focus of the Mayor Michael Bloomberg's State of the City speech today may have been on taking another crack at fixing the city's schools and streamlining its government, but this is still Mike Bloomberg, remaker of skylines and rebuilder of waterfronts, so there was bound to be a lot of development goodies studding the speech.

Aside from the Kingsbridge Armory announcement, which was previewed yesterday, the proposal that most jumped out was one for the heart of Midtown. "In the area around Grand Central, we’ll work with the City Council on a package of regulatory changes and incentives that will attract new investment, new companies and new jobs," the mayor said. Read More

By Dana Rubinstein 2/09/10 10:34pm

Rich Guy Fight at the Essex House!

It was startling, that day when Munich-based businessman Ernst Georg Hartner looked out the north-facing window of his condo at the lavish Jumeirah Essex House and found his Central Park view corrupted by a greenhouse-like structure perched on the ledge abutting his next-door neighbor's apartment.

Perplexed, Mr. Hartner contacted the neighbor. And the Essex Read More

By Max Abelson 9/08/09 11:09pm

After Collapse, Locksmith Asks $12 M.

Manhattan real estate is an extreme thing. One morning the entire facade of a vacant five-story Tribeca walk-up will crumble, and four months later that building’s owner will put his Central Park brownstone on the market for well over $10 million.

After 71 Reade Street’s collapse during the Buildings Department’s Construction Safety Week in late April, Read More

By Eliot Brown 4/17/08 5:53pm

Six Cranes Shut Down for Safety Violations

Inspectors found safety violations on six tower cranes--those giant cranes attached to area skyscrapers--after searching all 29 currently in use citywide, the Department of Buildings announced today.

The six cranes, with another two registering administrative violations, were temporarily shut down until the errors were corrected.

Following last month’s fatal crane Read More

By Eliot Brown 3/20/08 7:55pm

City Employee Arrested in Wake of Crane Collapse

An inspector from the Department of Buildings was arrested today following last weekend’s fatal crane collapse for falsifying an inspection, though city officials said his actions likely did not lead to the accident.

Edward Marquette was charged with falsifying business records, a felony, after he admitted he lied on paperwork and did not Read More