Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Scarano - Lancaster Scandal

So we heard yesterday that Buildings Department commish Patricia Lancaster entered into a secret, sweetheart deal with infamous architect (what is the opposite of "starchitect"?) Robert Scarano. Essentially, Lancaster would sweep Scarano's various misdeeds under the rug.

This Daily News article visits with one of the victims of Scarano's chicanery, who thinks that Lancaster should be brought up on charges for the questionable deal with Scarano. But note this:
Bloomberg spokesman John Gallagher did not respond to a question about whether the mayor knew of the Scarano deal before it was signed. He said such nondisclosure deals since have been banned.
This stinks to high hell. We need action, including an investigation of Ms. Lancaster's dealings with Scarano. More broadly speaking, we need to reverse the damage done by years of Republican maladministration, starting with Rudy Giuliani's ill-advised self-certification program. It was self-certification that allowed Scarano to get away with the worst of his abuses.

We need a buildings Department with some teeth!

UPDATE: Gowanus Lounge has the response from DOB.

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