Thursday, July 10, 2008
Assemblyman Jim Brennan's office requested that someone inspect the fence around 23 Caton Place to see whether the security fence was completely intact. Here's what I found out when I did so.
Morning of Friday, July 11, 2008
On Friday morning, there was a security guard at 23 Caton Place. He was in an unmarked Caravan, and didn't seem to notice me until after I was poking around taking pictures for about 5 minutes (and opening the unlocked main gate to the site - see photo). This is the first time this week that I've seen a guard there, and I've been poking around a lot.
But anyway, he was there on Friday morning (his shift is 12am until 8am). My guess is that this was the result of Assembly Jim Brennan's office calling the Department of Buildings on Thursday (reported in a detailed response from his representative). Or maybe Councilmember Bill de Blasio's office has done something (but didn't really tell us what - we are still waiting for details).
The guard claimed that someone has been there all the time, 24 hours per day (which isn't true, in my opinion). He claimed that the main gate was only unlocked because he was there, but also admitted that the guard he relieved at midnight had left with the key. Presumably, this means the site will be unlocked until the key comes back.
When I told the guard that I walked by at 9:30pm on Thursday night and saw a couple of people sitting on the platform in front of the site, he claimed that it was "the security guard with his friend". He also claimed that if you didn't see a guard at the site it was because "he was inside, walking around". Maybe - I have my doubts.
I still think it would be better to go back to the good old-fashioned marked security booth (or car) with a guy in a bright orange vest visibly present.
The rest of the weekend
Security seemed hit-and-miss for the remainder of the weekend. There was an unmarked car at the site for part of Saturday. On Saturday night, there was a guy sitting on the platform singing. Certainly didn't look like the orange-vested security guards that I am used to seeing at construction sites. Frankly, he just looked like a guy hanging out, and I don't consider that to be a visible security presence. But I think that he actually was the security guard.
During the day on Saturday, there was a shiny new padlock on the main gate, but by Saturday evening, it was gone, along with any sign of security. Sunday morning, still no sign of security or a lock on the main gate (see photos). Whatever we had on part of Friday and Saturday was gone.
A link to this post is being sent to Assemblyman Jim Brennan's office (as they requested more information about the state of the site).
Unlocked main gate at 23 Caton Place:
Unmarked security Caravan is gone, no other visible security presence:
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