At a news conference Monday afternoon, Morgenthau announced his office will prosecute John Galt Corp., the subcontractor; Jeffrey Melofchik, the Bovis site safety manager for the project; and two John Galt employees, foreman Salvatore DePaola and Mitchel Alvo, director of abatement. All have been charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in connection with the August 18, 2007 blaze in the partially dismantled tower at 130 Liberty St., in which two New York City firefighters were killed and more than 100 were injured. The tower was irrevocably damaged on 9/11, when part of the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed on it.
Although Morgenthau is not bringing charges against the city or any of its agencies, he puts part of the blame on the Bloomberg administration. "Everyone failed at the Deutsche Bank building," Morgenthau says in a statement. "The contractors violated their contractual provisions and city rules and regulations in the way they conducted the abatement and deconstruction of the building. Worse, they dismantled a large section of the standpipe in the basement with catastrophic results. In turn, the city and its agencies, especially the Fire Department and the Department of Buildings, failed to discover the gaping hole in the building's fire protection system. A single inspection of the basement would have uncovered the disabled standpipe, yet that inspection never took place."
Under its agreement with the D.A.'s office, the city will establish a dedicated force to conduct inspections at buildings undergoing construction, demolition and/or abatement, according to a release from Morgenthau. To be created within the fire department, the team will consist of 25 civilian inspectors and will pay particular attention to standpipes. The fire department will also add two new civilian staff members to conduct random audits of the inspections, add five civilians to its compliance unit and hire three data management technicians to coordinate inspections and check DOB and Department of Environmental Protection databases for violations prior to inspections.
A statement issued by the city reads in part, "The city accepts responsibility for the inspectional and enforcement failures by its agencies. We deeply regret the failures of our agencies to inspect and detect the conditions that contributed to the deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino. These two men bravely sought to protect us all and lost their lives in that heroic effort. We know that their families have suffered terribly. The regulatory measures we have put in place and the additional reforms set out today are designed to prevent any firefighter from again confronting the conditions that firefighters Beddia and Graffagnino and others faced at the Deutsche Bank building that tragic day."
In a separate statement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg notes that since the August 2007 fire at 130 Liberty, he has frequently stated that "the failures of the contractors and city agencies were unacceptable. After the fire, we convened a working group, chaired by deputy mayor Edward Skyler, to strengthen our inspection and enforcement practices. The group analyzed agencies' internal operations and the inter-agency coordination and communications. The group proposed 33 recommendations to improve safety at construction, demolition, and abatement sites, and we are now implementing all of them."
Bovis has agreed to develop "a comprehensive standpipe, smoking prevention, fire prevention and first responder safety program at 130 Liberty St. and all other Bovis New York projects," according to the release from Morgenthau. The company has also agreed to a program of management and staff changes to enhance its commitment to fire safety, the appointment of an independent monitor—approved by Morgenthau and paid for by Bovis—to oversee the implementation of the safety initiatives and the establishment of a fire safety academy under the auspices of the Contractors Association of Greater New York or a similar organization.
In addition, Bovis will establish a memorial fund consisting of $5 million for each of the families of the deceased firefighters. The company may still be liable for civil penalties stemming from lawsuits by the firefighters' families. In a statement, Bovis says it regrets "the failures that contributed to the deaths of firefighters Beddia and Graffagnino. We recognize that nothing can bring them back and that their families have suffered terribly."
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
