Butkovitz cites concern about L&I oversight after
Inquirer report of illegal teardown.
Saying he had serious concerns about the city's oversight
of demolitions, City Controller Alan Butkovitz subpoenaed voluminous documents
from the Department of Licenses and Inspections on Monday.
In a letter to L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams,
Butkovitz said he was launching an investigation into the department's
adherence to stringent safety rules enacted after the Center City building
collapse that killed six people in 2013.
His action comes one day after The Inquirer reported that
L&I allowed an illegal demolition at 26th and Poplar Streets last year.
City inspectors say the contractor at that site used some of the unsafe and
discredited techniques that caused the deadly collapse at 22d and Market
Streets.
The Inquirer reported that tough new rules guiding
demolitions were ignored at the Poplar Street site.
"This is a serious concern and one that needs to be
addressed immediately to ensure public safety is not jeopardized,"
Butkovitz wrote to Williams.
He demanded that the department provide his office with
records of demolitions and safety plans from 2013 and 2014; a list of employees
who performed and oversaw inspections of demolition sites; information on
overtime costs; and internal correspondence among 30 department employees,
Williams, and his top lieutenant, Scott Mulderig.
Mulderig, director of emergency services for L&I, was
reassigned this month after The Inquirer raised questions about demolitions
that took place on his watch.
Williams has declined to comment. A spokesman for the
Nutter administration said Monday that city officials would cooperate with the
controller's inquiry.
On Sunday, The Inquirer reported that Ashaw Demolition of
Oxford Circle took down five buildings at 26th and Poplar in the spring and
summer of 2014 without obtaining required permits.
In addition, Ashaw demolished a house without informing
its owner, according to court documents. And it used questionable techniques in
its work, city inspectors said.
L&I did not punish Ashaw. Instead, officials gave the
company a coveted spot on the city's master demolition list of firms to be
called on when the city needs to take down buildings.
Butkovitz also subpoenaed the master demolition lists and
all correspondence between department officials and contractors seeking a place
on the list in 2013 and 2014.
In his letter, Butkovitz referenced an audit of L&I
that his office conducted after the building collapse at 22d and Market.
The audit found that despite new rules on demolitions
born of the collapse, inspectors routinely failed to perform required
inspections. In some cases, the audit found, the inspections were waived
without explanation.
Butkovitz said his office would seek to learn whether
inspections were waived for legitimate reasons "or if there was internal
or external influences."
The investigation by the City Controller's Office comes
at a time when L&I is already under scrutiny by the Inspector General's
Office. After The Inquirer raised questions about illegal demolitions this
month, the Nutter administration referred the matter to that office.
On Monday, Inspector General Amy Kurland acknowledged
that her office had been asked to look into the matter but declined further
comment.
Source: Philly.com
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