Construction in New York (or, A Study in Incompetence)

The latest water main break. Photo by the author.

Having spent a few years working around major industrial construction projects, I like to think I know a few things about managing a construction site. That's why I've been so amused watching the 7-story apartment that is supposed to be going up along Columbia Street. For the first 6 months we lived here the site, little happened save for excavation. Then, at the end of January, something did happen. They broke a water main. We woke up to find the site next door flooded with 4+ feet of water. FDNY eventually pumped it dry, but work was stopped at the site for the better part of two months. It was, sadly, not much of a surprise. We had spent months watching the site be managed with a level of professionalism that was marginal at best - an aimless construction team animated by the occasional visit by what I can only guess is the owner of the property. From our vantage point, the construction contractor(s) were rarely managed by anyone.

The first flood. Photo by the author.

Fast forward to last week and - finally - work began again. They laid a partial slab foundation and just today completed excavation work on the site. In fact, it was around the time they completed excavation that I was roused from my desk to see what was going on. I looked out my window and saw, little to my surprise, water pouring into the newly excavated foundation. They had struck the water main. Again.

Which brings me to a broader issue I have with construction in New York. Coming from DC, I am used to large developers taking the lead, even with small buildings (our old 4 unit apartment in DC was owned, renovated, and managed by Douglas Development Corporation, one of the largest property development firms in the region). New York is not lacking in its Turners and others, but compared to most cities there seems to be an incredible number of small firms that both own and manage construction projects. I'm certainly a fan of encouraging small businesses, but I cannot help but feel that the prevalence of small management companies, less flush in cash or construction management expertise, breeds a culture of slipshod work and corner cutting that simply would not fly in another city or a company like Turner. 

Does that mean every small property developer is incapable? Of course not. But in New York this is a very important issue. In a city that is short on housing inventory, adding to the housing stock is one of the few tools available to relieve pressure on ever-increasing rents and sales prices. Prices along Columbia Street, where this apartment is going up, appreciated by 32% between 2004 and 2012, and there are few remaining sites on which to build. Incompetent construction management, then, isn't simply an inconvenience; it costs renters and buyers money by adding to construction costs and keeping new units out of the citywide housing inventory with endless delays. And that means it's in all of our interests to make sure construction companies in this city are held to the same high standards used in other cities.

As for the site? At the time of this posting, it's still filling with water. FDNY's pumps are failing to keep up with the volume spilling from the main. And it's looking like it will be another couple of months before they get back to work.