Another incompetent Bloomberg appointee bites the dust...will Joel Klein, Adrian Benepe and the Mayor himself be far behind..?
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Commissioner Patricia Lancaster was pushed out the door at the Department of Buildings yesterday, a day after Mayor Bloomberg ripped her agency for an embarrassing series of screw-ups.
"It has been an honor serving in his administration and I thank the mayor for this opportunity," said Lancaster, who sources said resigned under pressure.
"After six years in public service, I made this decision because I felt it was time to return to the private sector."
Lancaster, who took command in 2002, most recently took heat after telling the City Council last week that the East Side building project where a crane collapse in March killed seven people should never have been granted a construction permit.
Bloomberg on Monday said he didn't think anybody "should be fully satisfied with the DOB's performance" - an unprecedented blast at one of his own agencies.
He also pointed out that there have been a dozen fatal construction accidents so far this year - the same number as in all of 2007.
Just last week, a window installer fell to his death from the ninth floor of an Upper East Side building under construction.
A source complained that Lancaster's admissions at the council hearing last week may have given new ammunition to lawyers already planning to sue the city.
But yesterday, after accepting her resignation, the mayor had nothing but praise.
"Construction is a dangerous, complicated business, and she has conducted herself in a manner that says she selflessly worked very hard. I am sorry to see her go, and would be happy to tell anybody she's a woman who has really made a difference in this city," he said.
In the interim, DOB First Deputy Commissioner of Operations Robert LiMandri will take the agency's reins.
Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, who represents the district where the crane collapsed, said it was time for Lancaster to go.
"I think it was appropriate and necessary," said Lappin. "I want to thank her for being so honest and forthright over the last few weeks and for her service over the last few years - but given the challenges the department faces, I think it's appropriate to have some new leadership."
On the East Side block devastated by the collapse, angry residents agreed.
"The Department of Buildings need to get familiar with the term 'criminal negligence,' " said Daniel Hollman, 40, a lawyer who had to abandon his apartment at 300 E. 51st St. for two weeks.
Additional reporting by Conn Corrigan
