Shoddy condos? Shoddy luxury condos? Impossible.

Is anyone really surprised that a development environment that wantonly flouts zoning, safety and construction codes might also be taking the concept of “value engineering” to new depths? That “build it fast” might not translate into “build it well”?

If they are serious about this, DOB and the AG’s office will be very busy in the coming years. Right now, they are going after the low-hanging fruit (the article says that the only case the AG has pursued so far is Mendel Brach’s project on “Bedford Street in Brooklyn”, by which I assume they mean the notorious Spencer Street project in Bed-Stuy).

Not surprisingly, the RealDeal reports that the AG’s office is “backlogged with condo construction/fraud complaints”. Also not exactly news is the revelation that DOB hasn’t been paying much attention:

[part] of the blame for poorly built condos also resides with the Department of Buildings. The agency, whose job it is to make sure buildings are habitable, has often been asleep at the wheel and has also green-lighted bad projects, sources said.