Return to Crater Lake: The Contractor Speaks

Sometimes, when our readers leave comments on an older post, and they're interesting, we like to run them as a post. So it is with the contractor who left a comment concerning the spot we called Greenpoint's Crater Lake. It's that building at 265 Eckford whose excavation site--on which work has been stopped--looks like a huge bomb crater. The contractor's comment gets at a point which we think is worth making: Oftentimes the person or entity behind the problems that one finds are the developers or owners of the property. One can rail as much as one wants about what an architect, for instance, is doing, but he or she is most likely doing the bidding of a developer--doing what he or she wants in terms of building height, materials, design, etc.

In any case, we digress. Here's a bit of what our contractor wrote about Crater Lake, a photo of which we've posted above again as a handy memory refresher:

...As for the hole in the ground here are the facts. 2 stop work orders have been placed, the signage and permits have been ripped down 6 times causing us to get violation after violation. The lock on the gate was cut and the site vandalized, photos were taken of the break in and our attorneys have shown them in court while addressing the violations. The owner has not paid for any insurance (we at our expense are maintaining insurance) and owes my company money. I do not finance other peoples projects, when they don't pay work stops. The building for this site would be a nice addition to Greenpoint but without the proper funding work stops. It is unfortunate that the community has to deal with this eyesore for now. But we as the General contractors, our hands our tied, unless some of you guys want to pay for the solution.

Which brings us full circle to the point we make again and again: Why is the city virtually impotent--either unwilling or unable to act--when it comes to forcing property owners and developers to safeguard the community and protect quality of life?

Related Post:
Check Out Greenpoint's Crater Lake