License a Must for Next Buildings Chief

It would seem as though Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to dump the rule that requires the Buildings Department commissioner be a licensed engineer or architect doesn’t have much support from those in the industry.

(Gotham Gazette) -- Sparked by a Daily News editorial calling it “imperative” that the mayor get his request, Fredric Bell, the executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects penned his own op-ed in the Architects Newspaper.

“Architects and engineers have sent mailbags full of letters and emails to the City Council chambers to explain why—with safety concerns on our sidewalks paramount—now is not the time to relax the professional qualifications needed for this difficult job,” he writes.

“The process by which an architect or engineer becomes licensed by the state of New York is arduous, arguably harder than passing the state bar exam,” Bell continues. “It tests comprehensive knowledge of codes, zoning, building practices, and environmental standards.”

Other professional organizations have added to the argument against the idea, which was panned during a City Council hearing last month. It was last proposed by then-Speaker Gifford Miller in 2002, although Bloomberg was noncommittal at the time.

One group that has voiced “adamant opposition” to the move is the New York State Society of Professional Engineers. In a statement last month, the group’s president, Robert Stelianou, said: “In a time when the residents of New York have seen 13 construction related deaths in the past four months, it makes no sense to downgrade the requirements of New York’s top building professional. Having the Department of Buildings led by anyone other than a licensed design professional jeopardizes public safety in a manner equivalent to having the Department of Health led by anyone other than a medical doctor.”

While understanding of the need to quickly fill the troubled seat, the New York Building Congress says that the city needs to exhaust every means of finding a qualified candidate to take the helm before lower requirements.