Although many have partially blamed the building boom with more construction accidents--since there are more chances of things going wrong--Gross says that "if the increase in construction and construction related accidents and DOB building inspectors was proportional, I would say blame it on the building boom. But there clearly is, and has been a wide discrepancy between the first two and the third which dispels the oversimplification of blaming it on the pace of development."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg briefly discussed recent comments regarding staffing at the DOB on Wednesday at a public school in St. Albans, Queens. "You can always look at every agency and think that they could do more and that they could use more people," he said. "The reality of the world is that every agency is probably understaffed and taxpayer is probably overtaxed. You'll never have enough inspectors whether it is buildings or restaurants or anything else that the city inspects to have somebody every place all the time. That's just not the real world." The mayor said that "you change your methods of inspection, of permitting and there are ways to statistically do an awful lot with a relatively few number of people. The Buildings Department actually does have an awful lot of inspectors."

Gross notes that in regard to Lancaster, "I think it's much easier to blame a figurehead and appoint someone new than overhaul a system that is in dire need of help. Ms. Lancaster took major strides in modernizing the DOB, but it would appear that some of these updates were prioritized over safety and ethical concerns that should have taken precedence." Gross further explains that as far as the recent crane collapse, and after learning that the building's design had violated four local zoning regulations, "it's hard to believe that it was an isolated incident."

Louis Coletti, president of the New York Building Trades Employers Association tells GlobeSt.com that Lancaster "did an effective job in building a foundation for reform." He adds that there were a number of things that she accomplished. However he did explain to that although the administration remains committed to improving the department overall, "there are still issues that need to be resolved."

A prepared DOB release regarding the planned review of high-risk construction activities says that "engineering experts will supplement the Department's inspection staff by conducting highly-specialized inspections while also reviewing the Department's current inspection protocols to identify any necessary changes to its oversight of these activities. Through this process, the Department will develop a Construction Analysis and Oversight Plan that will be a blueprint to expand the agency's efforts to make high-risk construction activities safer."

LiMandri says that "construction safety requires unwavering commitment from every responsible party involved, at every level in the construction process. This year we have seen an increase in accidents and injuries related to high-risk construction activities, and we must make sure that as construction activity in the City continues to increase, the Department's ability to hold the construction industry to higher safety standards keeps pace." LiMandri continues that the assessment the City is launching is unprecedented. "We are conducting a top-to-bottom analysis of how these industries function in the field so that we can best oversee them and hold them to the high safety standards New Yorkers deserve. This investment is about identifying ways in which the Department and the construction industry can make high-risk activities safer."