City sets new ground-rules for concrete testing.Amidst an investigation into the alleged falsification falsification /fal·si·fi·ca·tion/ (fawl?si-fi-ka´shun) lying. retrospective falsification unconscious distortion of past experiences to conform to present emotional needs. of concrete-testing documents by private labs, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. has taken a three-pronged approach to ensure that concrete used in area building projects meets the necessary strength requirements. The Department of Buildings announced it will build a city-owned and operated concrete-testing laboratory, create a special Concrete Unit and implement re-testing for dozens of buildings named in the investigation. Testwell Laboratories of Ossining and several of its employees were indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. last fall on charges of fraud and racketeering Traditionally, obtaining or extorting money illegally or carrying on illegal business activities, usually by Organized Crime . A pattern of illegal activity carried out as part of an enterprise that is owned or controlled by those who are engaged in the illegal activity. charges after it was discovered workers were lying about having performed concrete-strength tests and engaging in shady billing practices. The buildings in question included the Freedom Tower and the new Yankees Stadium. Then in July, officials indicted Stallone Testing Laboratories of Port Chester Port Chester, village (1990 pop. 24,728), Westchester co., SE N.Y., a suburb of New York City, on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Byram River, and on the Conn. border; settled after 1660, inc. 1868. Primarily residential, it produces some household goods. Gen. for lying about having performed tests over a 10-year period. The alleged wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do was noticed by officials performing spot
checks.
"Concrete testing is a critical component of concrete operations, and the results should affirm the strength and quality of materials used for a building under construction," Commissioner Robert LiMandri said in a prepared statement. "However, the integrity of concrete-testing practices has come into serious question, and this new laboratory, as well as a new Concrete Unit and re-testing protocol, are three significant measures to ensure concrete testing procedures are lawful and the concrete used meets a project's specific design requirements. We will continue to work with the Department of Investigation and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to uncover any allegations of wrongdoing." The new city concrete-testing lab could open as soon as January in the Bronx, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the DOB DOB abbr. date of birth DOB abbreviation for date of birth; used in medical records. DOB Date of birth . It will offer testing services to all city agencies responsible for construction projects and will allow the city to independently audit the 35 private firms licensed to perform testing in the Big Apple. A Concrete Unit, comprised of engineers and construction inspectors, will perform spot checks on testing at construction sites and will audit work at private facilities to ensure compliance, the DOB said. Finally, the city is requiring the property owners of 82 locations serviced by Testwell to perform re-testing on the structures to determine if remediation is necessary. The DOB said properties named in the Stallone indictment will be assessed and, if need be, re-tested. Luigi DeMaio, the attorney for Stallone, said it would be "ridiculous" to retest re·test tr.v. re·test·ed, re·test·ing, re·tests To test again. n. A second or repeated test. his client's properties because samples checked out by the Port Authority were well over the acceptable threshold of strength. The DOB has revoked Stallone's testing license and is currently appealing a Supreme Court judge's decision that said the DOB was wrong for previously denying Testwell's license-renewal application. DeMaio said he is confident Stallone will be cleared of any wrongdoing. He added the city has unfairly targeted his client. "They've virtually driven them out of business," he said. Testwell attorney Paul Schechtman could not immediately be reached for comment. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion