L&I's demolition papers sought

Saying he had serious concerns about the city's oversight of demolitions, City Controller Alan Butkovitz subpoenaed voluminous documents from the Department of Licenses and Inspections on Monday.

In a letter to L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams, Butkovitz said he was launching an investigation into the department's adherence to stringent safety rules enacted after the Center City building collapse that killed six people in 2013.

His action comes one day after The Inquirer reported that L&I allowed an illegal demolition at 26th and Poplar Streets last year. City inspectors say the contractor at that site used some of the unsafe and discredited techniques that caused the deadly collapse at 22d and Market Streets.

The Inquirer reported that tough new rules guiding demolitions were ignored at the Poplar Street site.

"This is a serious concern and one that needs to be addressed immediately to ensure public safety is not jeopardized," Butkovitz wrote to Williams.

He demanded that the department provide his office with records of demolitions and safety plans from 2013 and 2014; a list of employees who performed and oversaw inspections of demolition sites; information on overtime costs; and internal correspondence among 30 department employees, Williams, and his top lieutenant, Scott Mulderig.

Mulderig, director of emergency services for L&I, was reassigned this month after The Inquirer raised questions about demolitions that took place on his watch.

Williams has declined to comment. A spokesman for the Nutter administration said Monday that city officials would cooperate with the controller's inquiry.

On Sunday, The Inquirer reported that Ashaw Demolition of Oxford Circle took down five buildings at 26th and Poplar in the spring and summer of 2014 without obtaining required permits.

Link:
L&I's demolition papers sought