A “negligent” engineer who made a mistake that led to the collapse of a seven-story Bronx apartment building has paid a $10,000 fine and agreed to a two-year ban on city inspections, authorities announced Thursday.
According to Mayor Eric Adams’ office, professional engineer Richard Koenigsberg’s firm determined which columns were decorative and which were used to support the nearly 100-year-old Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights. He is said to have acted playfully by incorrectly stating whether it was necessary.
“Public safety is my administration’s top priority, and the signing of today’s agreement is an opportunity for all construction professionals to work professionally, competently, and most importantly, safely,” Adams said in a statement. This should serve as a reminder of the importance of carrying out our duties.”
Immediately after the partial collapse on December 11, which miraculously caused no deaths, the city suspended Königsberg’s inspection authority for the first time.
Adams said in a statement at the time that a then-unidentified state-certified engineer made a serious mistake in decorating and labeling the load-bearing columns in plans submitted to the Department of Buildings.
Jimmy Oddo, director of the Adams Building Department, said he wants to suspend and permanently revoke the engineer’s authority to inspect the exterior walls of buildings, saying, “We are not in the business of evaluating the exterior walls of buildings in New York City.” .
“When those entrusted to keep us safe cut corners or make critical mistakes, we take swift action and hold them accountable,” Hizzoner said. I intend to do so,” he said.
Ultimately, they reached a two-year settlement, but Adams’ office said the city could issue additional penalties after other investigations by the Department of Buildings, the City Bureau of Investigation and the Bronx District Attorney conclude. He said there is.
As part of an agreement signed to avoid a formal disciplinary hearing in the Administrative Judiciary Hearing Board, Koenigsberg agreed to wind down his operations over a four-month period, Adams said.
However, the work he completes must be reviewed by a third-party engineering firm before it is submitted to the Building Department, where the work will also be scrutinized.
Days after the collapse, inspectors instructed contractors working on the site to remove bricks on support beams, but without first installing temporary supports, according to city investigators. He is said to have instructed him to do so.
The cave-in could have easily been fatal, with video footage showing people fleeing the intersection as debris rained down on the road.
Firefighters searched the huge pile of rubble for victims, but fortunately no one was found under the rubble.
Still, more than 40 families living in the building were left homeless, and many residents were evacuated to a nearby school.
Mr. Konigsberg’s office inspected the building on February 18, 2020, calling it an “unsafe” structure with “significant masonry damage throughout the façade” and requiring much-needed repairs. Recommended.
However, the construction work was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to records from the Department of Buildings.
The latest report found unsafe conditions on seven facades, including deteriorated mortar and cracked brickwork, Oddo later said.
Since the collapse, extensive repairs and subsequent inspections have allowed many displaced families to return home, Adams’ office said.
