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Great American
Gay Suit
Gay Suit
August 11, 2011, 12:13 PM
Appeals Court
Upholds Building
Ban on Architect
Upholds Building
Ban on Architect
July 15, 2011, 12:53 PM
(Photo Caption: The L-shaped lot at 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was one on the projects that the Buildings Department said the architect Robert M. Scarano has filed false documents about.)
A Manhattan appeals court upheld a decision on Thursday that essentially prevents the famous — to some, infamous — local architect Robert M. Scarano Jr. from doing business in New York. An administrative judge ruled last year that Mr. Scarano had made numerous false statements to the city to avoid zoning laws in construction projects. The ruling led the Department of Buildings to ban Mr. Scarano from filing any building documents, including permit applications and construction plans, with the city.
Mr. Scarano, who for years has been known to push the envelope with designs that can transform a block or a neighborhood, appealed the decision. The L-shaped lot at 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was one of the projects that the Buildings Department said the architect Robert M. Scarano has filed false documents about.
But a five-justice panel from the appellate division in Manhattan agreed with the administrative judge’s ruling on the action taken by the Department of Buildings, or D.O.B. It wrote in its decision that allegations of Mr. Scarano’s misconduct “are supported by substantial evidence and warrant the finding that D.O.B. can no longer rely on him to submit honest paperwork. Thus, there was a basis for prohibiting him from submitting further documents to D.O.B.”
The department praised the ruling for vindicating its stance against what they said was Mr. Scarano’s misleading tactics. “New Yorkers depend on licensed professionals to follow the law and ensure the quality of life of our neighborhoods is protected,” Robert LiMandri, the buildings commissioner, said in a statement. “Mr. Scarano betrayed that trust, and this decision sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for filing false documents in New York City.”
But Mr. Scarano’s company, Scarano Architect P.L.L.C., released a statement saying that he would continue to serve the numerous clients he has in New York City. Most of his clients are in the city, according to a colleague of Mr. Scarano. “We are extremely disappointed in today’s ruling and we are going to examine all legal options available to us,” Mr. Scarano said in a statement. “Despite this decision we plan to continue working hard to serve our clients and to maintain the high quality of architecture for which our firm is known.” Mr. Scarano, whose firm is more than two and a half decades old, is based in Brooklyn and focuses on projects mostly in the outer boroughs. He works on a range of projects from residential apartment buildings to multifamily housing units to commercial buildings.
The Buildings Department first brought administrative charges against Mr. Scarano in 2008 based on what it said were misleading documents he provided on two projects.
One was at 145 Snediker Avenue in Brooklyn. In that case, the department ruled that construction could not begin until a utility pole was removed from the path of a driveway. In October 2008, according to the department, Mr. Scarano submitted documents indicating that the pole had been moved, but the documents were misleading as to the actual location of the pole.
In another project, at 158 Freeman Street and 1037 Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn, Mr. Scarano failed to accurately represent in documents that a building already existed on the L-shaped lot on which he wanted to build, according to the department. On two occasions, Mr. Scarano submitted plans to try to get approval to build a building that was too large for the lot, according to the department.
After reviewing those two cases, the administrative judge, Joan R. Salzman, in a ruling in March 2010, found that Mr. Scarano was “deliberately overbuilding” and said some of his filings were “so deceptive that they call to mind out-and-out fraud.” Judge Salzman added, “False filings lead to chaos.”
Mr. Scarano appealed to the appellate court, challenging the constitutionality of the city code that allowed the buildings commissioner to bar him from filing documents. Mr. Scarano also questioned whether his due process rights were violated. The appellate court rejected both arguments. Mr. Scarano can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, though it was unclear whether he would do so.
Court Clears Way
for Hospital
Corporation Layoffs
for Hospital
Corporation Layoffs
July 8, 2011, 3:01 PM
New York - A state appellate court ruled on Thursday that the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation could go forward with planned layoffs it had announced last year, reversing a lower court ruling that prevented the staff reductions. The city hailed the ruling as vindication that the mayor, his commissioners and the individual agencies had the right to determine the size of their work forces amid tight fiscal constraints.
“This decision is extremely important,” Michael A. Cardozo, the city’s corporation counsel, said in a statement. “It makes clear that in these difficult budget times the personnel and layoff decisions made by the executive branch cannot be second-guessed by the judiciary.” Since last year, when the lower court issued a temporary restraining order preventing the layoffs, the case has cost the city $10 million, Mr. Cardozo’s office said in a press release.
After hiring Deloitte Consulting to conduct a study, the Health and Hospitals Corporation determined in May 2010 that it would cut 144 positions: 45 of 136 carpenters, 45 of 156 electricians and 54 of 104 laborers. Unions representing each of these groups sued, saying that the layoffs would prevent the corporation, which runs the city’s public hospitals, from maintaining safe and adequate facilities. The layoffs, the union said, would affect the safety of hospital patients, staff members and the public.
“The Appellate Division has chosen to overturn the lower court’s well-reasoned findings and in so doing has reopened very real concerns about the safety of both the public and our members,” Lillian Roberts, the executive director of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal employees’ union, said in a statement released Thursday. The layoffs, she added, raised questions about who would do the work that was “so fundamental to the operations of H.H.C. facilities.”
“The Union will be carefully evaluating H.H.C. actions from today forward, and assessing all our options to best defend both our members, and the interests of the communities which H.H.C. is meant to serve,” she said.
A justice in State Supreme Court ruled last year that the layoffs, among other things, were arbitrary and capricious and that the corporation did not use sound methodology to determine the impact of the layoffs.
But Justice John W. Sweeny Jr., who wrote the 4-to-0 decision for the appellate court in Manhattan, said that the corporation appeared to use sound reasoning. “The record before us clearly shows that H.H.C.’s layoff decision was rational in light of the imperative to reduce costs in conjunction with its mandate to provide medical services to all,” Justice Sweeny wrote. Justice Sweeny also noted that it was up to the city to manage its staff.
“Neither the petitioners nor the courts should be permitted to substitute their judgment for the discretionary management of the public business by public officials, as neither have been lawfully charged with that responsibility,” he wrote.
Pro Bono
July 8, 2011, 3:01 PM
Although law firms seemed to rebound from difficult financial times last year by posting profits, the number of pro bono hours has fallen among the top 200 firms in the United States, according to The American Lawyer.
The average number of pro bono hours per lawyer at these firms dropped 8 percent, according to the journal. The trend seemed to make sense, said the editor in chief of The American Lawyer. “It’s not that the firms dramatically changed their commitment,” the editor said. “It was a staffing issue. Hiring hasn’t returned, but work to some degree has. There’s only so many bodies, so many lawyers. So they have to do the paying work before they do the pro bono work.” Still, the editor said, the drop should be noted. “It is significant to see pro bono numbers go down over all,” she said. “It’s big and it’s disconcerting. But it is not completely surprising.”
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