Robert Scarano is Having a Bad June

Some Carroll Gardens residents say they are disapppointed that yesterday's rally on Smith Street was more about architect Robert Scarano than about the building he is designing in their neighborhood. One resident wrote to say:

There was both some gratitude that [City Council Member Bill] de Blasio wants to point his finger at Scarano (who deserves it), but frustration that our specific development concerns were hardly heard by him...we feel we were lost in the shuffle.

Here's the text of the News 12 report on the event, which underscores the point:

City Councilman Bill De Blasio is seeking help from the state in an effort to stop an architect he says has been designing illegal buildings.

De Blasio is asking the state to revoke Robert Scarano’s license. He says the architect has been abusing a process called “self-certification.” The self-certification process essentially puts an architect on an honor system to ensure his or her designs are legal.

Scarano is no longer allowed the right to self-certify, but De Blasio is calling for stronger penalties against the architect.

Brooklyn officials claim one Scarano-designed building violated zoning codes when it was designed to be 16 stories tall. Residents are complaining that many of Scarano’s designs ignore the typical low-rise characteristics of Williamsburg.

When reached for comment, one of Scarano’s employees hung up on representatives from News 12 Brooklyn.

GL Analysis:
While there are many issues with Mr. Scarano's work, we have to say that the current effort exudes the ripe smell of old-fashioned political opportunism. The fact is that issues with Mr. Scarano's buildings have been around for years. We, frankly, place as much responsibility for the problems with the awful self-certification system that the city has used and with the Department of Buildings, which has been scandalously inept, at best, in doing its job.

Self-certification was the product of the Giuliani Administration. While it has been tightened after multiple abuses by many architects and developers, it is still there and serving as a substitute for public regulation. Why people are holding rallies now as opposed to having done so in 2004 or 2005 or 2006 is a fascinating question. So is the issue of where some of the same public officials were when other controversies arose and neighborhood activists asked them for help and got none. In fact, not too long ago, you would have had to send out a search and rescue team to find some City Council Members, Mr. de Blasio included, when issues arose.

The time would be better spent working to change individual developments that are problematic and on reforming and entire building approval and monitoring system that are in need to deep, systemic, top-to-bottom reform.