Oh my!
A few days ago a reader sent GA photos of what appeared to be 5 generators languishing in an HHA parking lot, reportedly since last October.
This afternoon GA wandered over to have a look... and guess what?
Either Mommy and Daddy generator had a slew of adorable babies or else... there are even more generators than depicted in the published photos!
Yep. What looks like 5 generators from 'the front' is actually... 14.
They are new, plastic wrapped, and marked with shipping or delivery dates; dates vary. The plot thickens!
GA spoke to a contractor who said these generators are of the type meant for indoor installation. So months of exposure to the elements can't be a good thing, right? He believes they're installed in some combination, so that that would mean these fourteen containers, assembled, are fewer than fourteen generators...
So EXACTLY how many generators are languishing in these 14 huge containers?
It may be time for another HFD inspection to figure out where they belong, if Executive Director/ Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia doesn't know. And if Garcia does know, then they should be installed immediately.
Unless of course, they can't be installed because the buildings haven't been built yet.
Well, look... it's all speculation... but GA recalled the developer chosen for Vision 20/20 telling the City Council his proposal did not include back-up generators. And...
Read paragraph 1 of Mayor Zimmer's May 1, 2013 letter to Carmelo Garcia below, the paragraph continues from page 1 onto page 2.
The developer's contract did not include back-up generators; generators were to be provided "by others".
Does this have anything to do with the 14 containers languishing in the HHA parking lot?
GA has no idea.
That's what the um, 'media' is for.
 |
| Why was this project bid without back up-generators? Why are generators sitting in the HHA parking lot? |
Not sure about the indoor/outdoor part. Those look very much like middle-grade outdoor enclosures. Some of them appear to have diesel day-tanks at the base, though some do not and show just the skid frame below. (unless those are just a raised base to elevate the generator and not a tank, but that would be odd to order that way). Maybe the short ones are natural gas, or are intended to hook up to another tank elsewhere. It is entirely possible that the building life safety systems are intended to be hooked up to a dedicated generator separate from the other systems, which would require more than one per building, but I may be giving them too much credit.
ReplyDeleteThank you, hobojoe! You sure know your stuff. They were all different sizes and had dimensions written on the outside. And different delivery dates. Some told me today deliveries started this summer. Why wouldn't they have been installed? If you are in the construction trade, does it smell to you?
DeleteA resident pointed to an existing building generator and said "It's dead. Not connected to anything." And that other buildings didn't have working generators. The HFD really needs to look at this.
There is really no valid reason why all the work could not have been completed already if delivery took place starting over the summer. There may be a LOT of "behind-the-scenes" work to be done with the wiring - sometimes you literally have to rewire most or all of the electrical circuits to get only the ones you want to be on the generator hooked to the transfer switch- especially if the electrical system wasn't originally designed with this in mind. However, this shouldn't be a months-long process by any stretch of the imagination. And all that possible rewiring is the absolute worst-case scenario, too.
DeleteI would just hope that in the meantime the battery backups for the fire alarm systems and emergency lighting are functioning as intended.
oh dear.
ReplyDeletewell well well, it appears someone ("the wire"??) got a little freaked out about the light you shined on his faux-pas and had the hudson reporter do a damage control puff piece. "wire" claims the the generators were delivered in sept/oct and couldn't be installed because of all the "cold weather and snow." wtf, it didn't get cold and snowy until january, what the hell was he doing for three month? too busy running for election, i'm guessing.
ReplyDeletethat HR article has all the hallmarks of a darkside cover story, the headline should have been "HHA Generators: Nothing to See Here, Move Along, It's Been Cleared Up".
The legacy of years of mismanagement of the HHA by Carmelo Garcia is will not be covered up with a damage control story in the Hoboken Reporter
DeleteEven if they were delivered in Sept and Oct, they were almost certainly ordered well ahead of that, during which time the preparatory site work (permitting, foundations, pads, etc) could have been completed in time for the delivery of the generators.
DeleteIt seems rather unconventional to take delivery of 14(!) brand new generators and be totally unprepared to do anything with them. If nothing else, just for the liability of having this equipment sitting around the property (vandalism, theft, nature, etc)!
Here's hoping that when they placed the order they specified "long-term storage preparations" so that these aren't rusting from the inside-out from sitting for so long.
Oh my-- in my opinion, current events show millions being spent by the taxpayer and no one running the store. Maybe they are trying to "generate" some revenue or "good buzz" press when the Vision 20-20 deal is finally out of the cloak and dagger "phase". Or maybe they'll just invoice them again. If you can get a million quarters "cleared up", how easy is a "3 generator monte game" in a clandestine Hoboken vacant lot??? I didn't think the Carmel was wearing this kind of wiring.
DeleteYou guys are missing the best part of the story - HUD said the manufacturer wanted to prove the generators could withstand the elements, so they purposely ordered them months early so the could leave them in the snow all winter?
ReplyDeleteAt least they were purchased with Federal funds!
He probably hasn't installed them because he figures Vision 20/20 is a done deal so why install in old buildings then have to move them to the new Vision 20/20 buildings.
ReplyDeleteThe Distorter story just reeked of damage control.
ReplyDeleteDean's next career move should be political press secretary. He has clearly demonstrated superlative ability in the art of spin.