This site at 239 N. 9 Street, which is the future site of a Karl Fischer-designed condo, has been such a dangerous horror show for so long that we’re thinking of awarding it a LiMandri Cup, in honor of the acting head of the Department of Buildings. Over the last couple of months, we’ve found the site wide open more than we’ve found it closed (not to mention the workers on the roof doing asbestos removal on a windy day this winter upwind from the neighborhood church). The site is even more of a threat to public safety now than it was a couple of weeks ago, as some deep holes appear to have been drilled into which a child could fall (or an adult’s limb could easily be broken). Although, the steel appears to have been removed.

GL Analysis
We call this part of Williamsburg the Triangle of Death because of persistently dangerous conditions that exist on construction sites and the lack of enforcement by the Department of Buildings and ineffectiveness of Stop Work Orders and fines in making things safer. Simply put, the situation is so bad and so likely to lead to serious injury or death (in addition to being a quality of life issue for neighbors) that it’s important to build a public record so that when the inevitable happens, there will be ample evidence that the problem had existed unchecked. We understand that in a city where cranes topple and take out city blocks, crappy fences allowing access to buildings in mid-demolition or to lots strewn with rubble and holes which could swallow up children are a minor thing. Yet, the persistently bad conditions in Williamsburg show why more effective enforcement mechanisms are needed right away. Either that, or sometime soon we’ll be watching the FDNY trying to dig a child or teenager out of a pit of rubble somewhere between Union Avenue, Driggs Avenue and N. 9th Street on Eyewitness News. Persistent violators and blatant threats to public safety like 239 N. 9 Street–which is a block from a grade school and a church–should have their permits suspended and the sites should be secured by the city, with the cost billed back to the developer at a rate high enough to ensure taxpayers make some money. These are basic and critical regulatory changes. The building code should be amended to require secured metal fence rather than the cheap plywood held together with spit that is currently allowed. It boggles the mind that projects costing tens of millions of dollars are surrounded by $1,000 worth of reused plywood held together with bent, rusty nails. Is it a small detail? Absolutely, given the horrific state of construction and building safety in New York City. Sometimes, though, the devil is in the details.