The Freedom Tower

No new requirements for larger stairwells in the wake of 9/11 and a host of other problems, in part, have paved the way for the sudden departure of the New York commissioner in the Department of Buildings.
Commissioner Patricia Lancaster stepped down from her post yesterday in a swirl of criticism over lack luster building safety and few improvements in the building code after the World Trade Center disaster.
The New York Times says not an inch of new space for exit stairs has been required in the office buildings that have gone up in New York since Sept. 11, 2001. The World Trade Center towers were only one-third occupied that morning. Had they been full, the stairways in each tower would have gotten so crowded that 14,000 more people probably would have died, a federal study determined.
The real world had shown that the old standards for exits would not hold up in a mass emergency.
In early 2002, a new city buildings commissioner, Patricia Lancaster, set up a group to find lessons for safety in high-rise buildings from the 9/11 calamity. The report from the World Trade Center Building Code Task Force made 21 recommendations — among them, better signs for exits, inspections of fireproofing, enhanced evacuation plans and fire drills.

The Queens Ledger reports that Lancaster is stepping down as the number of construction deaths in the city are on the rise and there is growing criticism for the agency as a whole.
“Controversy surrounding the department came to a head last month, when a large crane toppled on e 51st Street in Manhattan last month killing seven. Lancaster admitted at a City Council hearing that the crane did not meet building codes, and should have never been issued a permit. In fact, the inspector who signed off on the crane never actually inspected it.
There have already been 13 construction-related deaths in New York City so far in 2008, more than occurred in all of 2007. The tragic spike even earned Lancaster a rare rebuke from her boss, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who publicly stated that he was displeased with how DOB was operating.
The furor over Lancaster may have increased with the crane collapse, but Councilman Tony Avella has long been an outspoken critic of Lancaster, and has repeatedly called for her resignation. He called the move much needed and long overdue.
“While I thank her for her efforts to reform Building Code, her administration was riddled with sheer incompetence and an absolute neglect of building construction and safety enforcement issues,” he said in a statement.
Councilwoman Jessica Lappin from Manhattan said that Lancaster had served the city forthrightly, but that is was indeed time for her to step down.
“Given the magnitude of the issues currently facing DOB, something clearly needed to change,” she said. “New leadership is essential to restore faith in what appears to be a broken system.”
A replacement has not been named for Lancaster, but Avella said he hoped the mayor would pick a strong-willed person and then grant them the power to enact change.
“I hope that whomever the mayor appoints to lead the agency has the necessary leadership skills and determination to overhaul this agency,” he said. “The mayor must also grant the new commissioner the political power to enact building and construction enforcement reforms that his office, DOB, and the speaker of the City Council have blocked for some time.