dagblog - Comments for "S.F.’s building department is a mess. It's no wonder pay-to-play rules the day"

Yeah, i had a friend running

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 21:57:07 +0000

Yeah, i had a friend running some construction in Missouri - would have the same kind of "let's go have coffee", someone pays with a hundred, "sorry, smallest i got - keep the change". Presumably there are some remedies to better out a leash on this ugly side of the industry, but I've no idea what best practices are these days, if there are any.

I won't deny these...

oldenGoldenDecoy — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 21:47:13 +0000

In reply to Confusing things - inspectors

I won't deny these...

Confusing things - inspectors and building regulations are necessary...

Unfortunately this can also (but doesn't completely have to be) a touchpoint [if sic?] of corruption.

Of course any time there's a bottleneck, someone will find a workaround for a buck.

I ran our Plumbing, A/C & Mechanical business for 45 years.

Hence, my... Favorite saying? Give me a call and let's do lunch.

That came from the inspectors side.

~OGD~

believe me, I know. I used to

artappraiser — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 17:24:07 +0000

In reply to It's everywhere . . .

believe me, I know. I used to do a related news series, went to five chapters.

But not "everywhere". Saying "everywhere" is a denial of the reality that it's mainly a big city Dem machine thing and NYC has the most experience. (Real estate developers like the Trumps and Kushners have come out of learning to work our lovely system, after all.) Right now we got a mayor who got his position partly through "pay to play" help And he's a disaster..

Just had no idea that SF had gotten so bad like our pros from Dover, that the dysfunction was so organized there as well.

Stories and reporters like this serve a very important function. There's no benefit in pretending a lot of the big blue cities are not very poorly run. And there's no benefit in pretending it can't be rectified some, like Bloomberg did as mayor in NY. That's why a supposed blue city like NYC ends up with non-Dem mayors being elected and re-elected.That hapens when you've just had enough and can't take it anymore.

Confusing things - inspectors

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 12:38:49 +0000

In reply to It's everywhere . . .

Confusing things - inspectors and building regulations are necessary everywhere, to make sure fires don't break out, city blocks get flooded, buildings don't collapse, infections or mold or rodents don't take over... It just the neighbor's start a 2 year Reconstruction project that keeps everyone from sleeping or destroys the value of the block.

Unfortunately this can also (but doesn't completely have to be) a touchpoint if corruption. Yes, it's complex - because cities and buildings are complex. I remember a few years back when a NASA project built the wrong A/C system for a new building - looked nice, but oops, didn't fit.

Of course a permits office has to be relatively efficient to actually review things promptly and issue permits in a timely and complete fashion. Otherwise construction and other teams can't be scheduled, much less deployed on time. Even if they're corrupt, they still need to deliver.

So a company that facilitates getting all the permits in order with enough lead time is valuable, provides a service. Of course any time there's a bottleneck, someone will find a workaround for a buck. I remember buying a train ticket out of Calcutta - going to the ticket window was a waste of time, due to opening hours, queues, etc., so the normal procedure was to pay one of the expeditor lads hanging around to go through the back door and get your ticket - for those who had this much money. Yes, greased palms do exist in all sorts of professions, but a permits office that's just inefficient and broken isn't even good enough to support proper graft.

It's everywhere . . .

oldenGoldenDecoy — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 08:22:21 +0000

In reply to S.F.’s building department is a mess. It's no wonder pay-to-play rules the day

It's everywhere . . .

The key role of a permit expeditor in the NYC DOB permitting process

The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), the agency that oversees structure development and maintenance throughout the five boroughs, grants hundreds of thousands of building permits annually. Developers, building owners, architects, engineers and contractors must navigate an involved four-part process. Fortunately, these professionals can rely on specialists who have the developmental know-how needed to deal with the complexities and move commercial construction projects along: permit expeditors.

milrose.com/insights/permit-expeditor-in-the-nyc-dob-permitting-process

Favorite saying? Give me a call and let's do lunch.

~OGD~

In Spain or Mexico, there's

artappraiser — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 23:15:07 +0000

In reply to S.F.’s building department is a mess. It's no wonder pay-to-play rules the day

In Spain or Mexico, there's the notion of a 'gestor' whose only role is to get you through those countries' slow, inefficient bureaucracies.

SF is at those levels in terms of public administration.
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) December 12, 2020