| 01/22/2009 |
| Gaudioso New Site |
Our New site. Our First Blog. |
New York News
Strict Constructionist
A look inside the development and construction industries throughout the five boroughs, as well as Upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut. New York Construction magazine’s new blog will deliver timely news and insightful commentary, as well as a comprehensive look at what’s being heard, overheard, and reported across the region.
| 03/04/2010 |
| Controversial NYC Architect Banned by Buildings Department |
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Brooklyn architect Robert Scarano - who has become infamous for his (often successful) attempts to disregard zoning requirements - is no longer able be able to file construction plans with the city's Department of Buildings. Scarano's firm, Scarano Architect PLLC, ranked 100 in New York Construction magazine's Top 125 design firms in 2009 — earning more than $7.5 million in regional revenue — and has been extremely active in Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Carroll Gardens, often designing buildings that community and civic groups often deride as out of character with the neighborhood, dwarfing nearby buildings and blocking views and natural light. On March 1 Administrative Law Judge Joan R. Salzman ruled that Scarano knowingly made false and misleading statements to the DOB on documents filed on three Brooklyn residential buildings. The department acted under a law enacted in 2007 granting the buildings commissioner the power to bar anyone guilty of submitting false documents. In 2008 the DOB and the Department of Investigation filed administrative charges against Serano based on allegations that he doctored documents pertaining to three Brooklyn buildings: 145 Snediker Avenue in East New York and 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue - both in Greenpoint. In the case of the Snediker Avenue location, the judge ruled that Scarano submitted documents and photographs that convinced the DOB he had moved a utility pole whose location was deemed unsafe by the department in order to secure final construction approval. The plans submitted for the Greenpoint buildings were found to misrepresent compliance with zoning regulations in order to build larger structures than permitted. Scarano is the eighth architect or engineer the DOB has accused of false filings. Of those eight, Scarano and three others have been barred from filing any more documents. |
| 02/25/2010 |
| Testwell CEO Tried To Kill Himself After Conviction |
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The New York Times is reporting that Testwell Laboratories owner and CEO V. Reddy Kancharla tried to commit suicide last week, two days after being convicted of falsifying concrete mix reports and filing them with the city. According to the Times piece, Kancharla slit his wrists and took sleeping pills, which his lawyer, Paul Shechtman, told New York State Supreme Court Justice Edward J. McLaughlin during a meeting McLaughlin had with lawyers on the case. After last week's convictions were handed down, the jury was still deadlocked on the charge of enterprise corruption, the state's version of racketeering and the most serious charge against Kancharla. McLaughlin asked the jury to continue deliberating, which they did until Wednesday, when they found Testwell, Kancharla and company vice president Vincent Barone guilty of the charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. Kancharla was not in court when the final verdict was read and was said to be absent due to an illness. |
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