AGING INFRASTRUCTURE: A large steam pipe exploded in Lower Manhattan Thursday morning, causing extensive damage to the street and positive asbestos tests that shut down streets and forced evacuations.

Thursday, July 19, 2018 

 

FLATIRON DISTRICT, Manhattan (WABC) -- 

 

Expert engineers speculated Thursday the steam pipe explosion in the Flatiron District of Manhattan may have been caused by a pipe failure due to age, maintenance work or something unconnected that disturbed the steam pipe system.

"We have a massive aging infrastructure problem that we have to deal with," said Bill Stephan, PhD, JD, PE, founding principal of Metropolitan Engineering Consulting and Forensics.
According to Con Edison, New York City is home to the country's largest steam power system.

More than 100 miles of underground piping carry steam from five plants to more than 1,600 customers in buildings around Manhattan where the steam is used for heating, cooling, and sterilization, according to the utility company.

Tobias said leaks are increasingly common in the city's nearly 150-year old system and explosions occur due to catastrophic failures caused by a variety of factors.

While steam pipe explosions are not common, blasts have happened more than a handful of times in New York City since 1987.

On July 18, 2007; just over 11 years ago, a deadly steam pipe explosion at East 41st Street and Lexington Avenue occurred in part due to a phenomenon known as a "water hammer," according to an incident investigation.
A water hammer occurs when cool water comes in contact with the exterior of a steam pipe, cooling the pipe and causing steam inside the pipe to turn to water. The mixture of steam and water inside the pipe causes pressure to build which can lead to an explosion.

Debris from maintenance work had also clogged devices intended to release pressure on the pipe in the 2007 blast, according to the investigation.

Stephan speculated a water hammer could also be a factor in the blast Thursday at 5th Avenue and East 21st Street.

7 On Your Side Investigates found an open permit for work on a water main near the intersection set to begin next week, but the city's Emergency Management Commissioner expressed doubt the incidents were connected.

"They were going to work on the water main which is across the avenue from where that steam pipe was," said Commissioner Joseph Esposito. "So that permit and that work appears, right now, to have nothing to do with the steam pipe rupture."
While investigators try to determine what did cause the rupture, Tobias warned the city's system is becoming increasingly vulnerable to this type of failure.

"The pipes are getting older. They are getting more corroded, and the wall thickness of these pipes is decreasing which makes them more vulnerable to these leaks and more vulnerable to these catastrophic failures.  The recent massive storm events we had in our area have expedited the breakdown of the infrastructure system, as the storms wash away the subbase that supports the piping, etc.  Superstorm Sandy did a real number on our infrastructure," Stephan said.

=====================

 AGING INFRASTRUCTURE

FLATIRON DISTRICT, Manhattan (WABC) -- 

A large steam pipe exploded in Lower Manhattan Thursday morning, causing extensive damage to the street and positive asbestos tests that shut down streets and forced evacuations.

The 20-inch steam pipe installed beneath Fifth Avenue near 21st Street in 1932 ruptured at 6:39 a.m., and Mayor Bill de Blasio said it will be several days before things return to normal in this part of the Flatiron District.
The blast sent a column of scalding vapor spewing hundreds of feet into the air and left a large crater in the street. Amazingly, only five people suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
Authorities evacuated 49 buildings on Fifth Avenue between 20th Street and 22nd Street as a precaution. About 500 people have been displaced.

The cause of the explosion is not known, de Blasio said, and Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the state Department of Public Service to conduct a full investigation and determine whether any utility activities contributed to it.

Environmental tests confirmed the presence of asbestos after the rupture, which was expected given the age of the pipe.

"We are very concerned about the material that was part of the steam line," de Blasio said. "There was asbestos in the steam line casing."
The mayor said the air is safe, but the buildings and streets are a worry.

"There is no meaningful presence of asbestos in the air," he said. "The concern is the debris on the street and on building facades.

All the buildings, both residential and commercial, will need to be checked for asbestos before they can reopen. Impacted buildings will need to be decontaminated, which could take several days, and that means residents will not be able to get back into the homes.

"For people who live and work in these buildings, we are going to do our best to help them get back in as soon as possible," de Blasio said. "Most likely scenario is a couple days. Perhaps some buildings farther from the site might be opened up as soon as this evening, but that is only a possibility. More likely is it will take two days or more to really clear the buildings and be confident people can go back in."

The work will require that section of Fifth Avenue to be shut down for days.

The line that exploded is part of a network of more than 100 miles of pipe that provides steam to 1,600 customers.

But that network is 150 years old, and leaks and explosions are becoming more common in recent years.

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the rupture and the subsequent raining down of debris is advised to bag their clothing and shower.

"We're (decontaminating) anyone who was in the area," Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joe Esposito said.

Health officials said there is a very low risk to one-time exposure, but if asbestos got onto your clothing, you need to get rid of it.

"People removing the clothing, bag it up, bring it to a Con Ed site, which has been established at 22nd and Broadway," de Blasio said. "We want that clothing turned in. If there is evidence of material on the clothing, looks like the debris and dust is still visible on the clothing, we want that clothing turned in. We want anyone who thinks they are exposed, get out of that clothing, shower, clean, put on new clothing. That's out of an abundance of caution. Again, we believe that temporary brief exposure is generally not a problem. But we want to treat this with a lot of caution."
Con Edison personnel were stationed at 19th Street and Broadway and at 22nd Street and Broadway until 9 p.m. to accept the clothing. They also have claim forms available for people to submit to receive compensation for their clothes.

More personnel will also be in the Clinton School, 10 East 15th Street, until 10 p.m. to provide claim forms. The claim forms are also available at ConEd.com.

A decontamination center for first responders was set up at 22nd Street and Broadway. Video from the site showed firefighters removing their gear, and piles of clear plastic bags filled with firefighting equipment nearby.

With streets being closed in the area, subway and bus service was impacted.

Subway service resumed at 23rd Street, but commuters should allow additional travel time if using R and W service at 23rd Street Station. Several staircases remain closed.

Several buses were also being detoured, including M1, M2, M3, M55, M23-SBS, X1, X10, X17, X27, X28.

For updates, visit MTA.info.

MISSERY IN MISSOURI: 17 PEOPLE DEAD AFTER A RIDE THE DUCKS BOAT OWNED BY RIPLEY ENTERTAINMENT SUNK IN STORMY WEATHER ON TABLE ROCK LAKE IN BRANSON, MISSOURI

This is a tragic event that could have been avoided had the boat operators heeded the watches and warnings issued by the NWS.

Friday, July 20, 2018 06:58PM

BRANSON, Missouri (WABC) --

Divers found four more bodies Friday in a Missouri lake where a duck boat packed with tourists capsized and sank in high winds, bringing the death toll to 17 in the country-and-western town of Branson, authorities said.

Investigators blamed stormy weather for the accident Thursday evening on Table Rock Lake. Winds at the time were blowing as hard as 65 mph (105 kph), according to the National Weather Service.
The boat was carrying 29 passengers and two crew members on a pleasure cruise, and authorities said everyone aboard had been accounted for. Seven of the 14 survivors were hurt when the vessel went down. At least two were hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.

The crew member who was operating the boat died, but the captain survived, authorities said.

Named for their ability to travel on land and in water, duck boats have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including the deaths of more than 40 people since 1999.

Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.

"Duck boats are death traps," said Andrew Duffy, an attorney whose Philadelphia law firm handled litigation related to two fatal duck boat accidents there. "They're not fit for water or land because they are half car and half boat."

Safety advocates have sought improvements and complained that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.

The boats were originally designed for the military, specifically to transport troops and supplies in World War II. They were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.

Passengers on a nearby boat described the chaos as the winds picked up and the water turned rough.

"Debris was flying everywhere," Allison Lester said in an interview Friday with ABC's "Good Morning America."

A severe thunderstorm warning had been issued for Branson at 6:32 p.m. Thursday, about 40 minutes before the boat tipped over.

Lester's boyfriend, Trent Behr, said they saw a woman in the water and helped to pull her into the boat. He said he was about to start CPR when an EMT arrived and took over.

Investigators from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board were to investigate. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader urged anyone with video or photos of the accident to contact authorities.

Divers located the vessel, which came to rest on its wheels on the lakebed, and authorities planned to recover it later Friday.

The boat sank in 40 feet (12 meters) of water and then rolled on its wheels into a deeper area with 80 feet (25 meters) of water. Investigators had no information about whether passengers were wearing life jackets or whether they were stowed onboard, the sheriff said.

The names of the dead were not immediately released.

An off-duty deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the boat turned over, the sheriff said. Dive teams from several law enforcement agencies assisted in the effort.

Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities. She said this was the ride's only accident in more than 40 years of operation.

Weather can change rapidly in this part of the country, moving from sunshine and calm to dangerous storms within minutes, weather service meteorologist Jason Schaumann said.

"Tornado warnings get a lot of publicity, and severe thunderstorm warnings should be taken very seriously too, particularly if you are in a vulnerable area like a lake or campground," he said.

President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences, extending his "deepest sympathies" to the families and friends of those involved.

Branson, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, is a country-themed tourist mecca built on a reputation for patriotic and religious-themed shows in numerous theaters.

Table Rock Lake, east of Branson, was created in the late 1950s when the Corps of Army Engineers built a dam across the White River to provide hydroelectric power to the Ozarks.
==========================

BRANSON, Missouri -- 

Divers are searching Friday for four people still missing after a duck boat packed with tourists sunk in high winds and stormy weather on a southwest Missouri lake, killing at least 13 people.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace said 14 people survived, including seven who were injured when the Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson Thursday evening.
Patrol divers found two more bodies early Friday, raising the death toll from 11 to 13, Pace said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said Thursday that stormy weather likely made the boat capsize. Another duck boat on the lake made it safely back to shore.

Passengers on a nearby boat told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the water became rough as the wind picked up.

"Debris was flying everywhere," Allison Lester said in an interview Friday.

Lester's boyfriend, Trent Behr, said they saw the body of a woman in the water and helped to pull her into the boat. He said he was about to start CPR when an EMT arrived and took over.
A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults are in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said.
Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph (100 kph).

Capt. Jim Pulley, owner of Sea Tow Table Rock Lake, told the Springfield News-Leader that the winds pushed the duck boat that capsized behind a steamboat that was tied to the dock.

Rader said an off-duty sheriff's deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the boat capsized. Dive teams from several law enforcement agencies assisted in the effort.

The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators will arrive on the scene Friday morning.

President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences Friday, extending his deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved.

Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. Smagala added this was the Branson tour's only accident in more than 40 years of operation.

Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music. An EF2 tornado that bounced through downtown Branson in 2012 destroyed dozens of buildings and injured about three dozen people, but killed no one.

Duck boats, which can travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus, and 13 people died in 1999 when a duck boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Safety advocates have sought improvements since the Arkansas deaths. Critics argued that part of the problem is that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.

Duck boats were originally used by the U.S. military in World War II to transport troops and supplies, and later were modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.

JUDICIAL CORRUPTION AND ABUSE OF LAWS IN NEW JERSEY: Former corrupt judge Margaret McVeigh steals property valued at $475,000 for $20,000 in undue taxes in Wayne Township, New Jersey. She was forced to resign in 2016 after complaints regarding her criminal acts

Former corrupt judge Margaret McVeigh steals property valued at $475,000 for $20,000 in undue taxes in Wayne Township, New Jersey.  She was forced to resign in 2016 after complaints regarding her criminal acts

JUDICIAL CORRUPTION AND ABUSE OF LAWS IN NEW JERSEY

I have been reading your stories regarding local courts that must stop shaking N.J. residents down for cash.

I must inform you that these practices are not limited to the municipal courts.  They are widespread in the superior courts, the Chancery (or general equity) divisions that handle tax sale foreclosures.  They threaten people with forfeiting their homes and with eviction if they fail to pay taxes that may not even owe.

In my case, they stole my homestead property and place of business that was valued at $475,000 for a property tax of $20,000.  The property was over-assessed by more than 40 percent in violation of N.J.S.A. 54:4-23 and the Uniformity Clause of the NJ Constitution (Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1(a)), and they knew it, but they confiscated my home, anyway.  Tragic, tragic, situation.  

The corrupt former Chancery judge Margaret McVeigh never issued an application of the law to the facts in violation of court Rule 1:7-4(a).  Furthermore, court rule R. 4:64-6 states that in foreclosure of tax sale certificates, if the defendant's answer sets up the defense of the invalidity of the tax or other lien, or the invalidity of the proceedings to sell, or the invalidity of the sale, those questions shall be tried in the action.  However, here there is neither fact finding nor a trial on any of the issues raised by Dr. Stephanatos.  The corrupt former Chancery judge Margaret McVeigh failed to consider the equities that were in favor of Dr. Stephanatos or that a windfall will result. See M&D Assocs. v. Mandara, 366 N.J. Super. 341 (App. Div.) certif. denied, 180 N.J. 151 (2004) for its rationale that chancery courts "in such foreclosure cases should be alerted . . . that a significant windfall might result if adequate scrutiny . . . is not undertaken[,] In view of our decision, the operation of the tax sale law requires that the entire judgment must be vacated as void based upon equitable considerations.”

 

Dr. Stephanatos was also targeted by the government due to the filing of several lawsuits, both federal and state; he was penalized by the judges for that.  What the government did was unlawful, unfair and unreasonable.

The Passaic County sheriff then filed criminal charges against me for refusing to leave my home and they claimed they were assaulted.  The criminal case is pending for 7 years and 1 month now.  It has not gone to trial because of the massive corruption in the judicial system and because the sheriff employees (Ronald A. Lucas and Vincent D'Agostino) committed perjury, i.e. they lied that they were assaulted.  Although an assault case must be brought to trial within 1 to 2 years, it has been more than 7 years now.  A defendant has a fundamental constitutional right to a speedy trial.  U.S. Const., amend.VI; N.J. Const. Art. I, ¶ 10.  But the state judiciary violated that right.

They also violated my constitutional rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and Article I, par. 20 of the state constitution that prohibit private takings;  no state court had jurisdiction or authority to take a $475,000 homestead property belonging in full to Dr. Stephanatos and deliver it to a third party (American Tax Funding, LLC).  But these corrupt judges did it anyway.


What has really shocked our conscience is that ATF, LLC/Wayne Township knowingly charged unlawful and/excessive taxes in violation of the Uniformity Clause (Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1(a)).  They also charged him 18 percent interest and 6 percent penalties on top of these excessive and illegal taxes.  Thus, a tax dispute of less than $20K (the overassessment amount) became $60K.  We found that Dr. Stephanatos offered to pay the $20K overassessment amount, but refused to pay the $60K amount.  Then the antitrust conspirators (See the U.S. District Court in Newark Antitrust Litigation that found that ATF, LLC conspired to defraud homeowners of their properties and money) confiscated his residential real estate property, along with his business, Metropolitan Environmental Services.

PRIVATE TAKINGS ARE PROHIBITED BY BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTIONS; AS A RESULT, THE CHANCERY COURT EXCEEDED ITS CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY AND ITS JUDGMENT WAS VOID AB INITIO

 

We provide the following two precedential New Jersey cases where the courts have ruled that an act of the legislature cannot confer any right upon an individual to deprive persons of the ordinary enjoyment of their property without just compensation.  Here are the two seminal cases:

An act of the legislature cannot confer any right upon an individual to deprive persons of the ordinary enjoyment of their property without just compensation. Oechsle v. Ruhl, 140 N.J. Eq. 355, 54 A.2d 462 (Ch.1947). Constitutional Law.

An act of the legislature cannot confer upon individuals or private corporations, acting primarily for their own profit, although for public benefit as well, any right to deprive persons of the ordinary enjoyment of their property, except upon condition that just compensation be first made to the owners. Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Angel, 41 N.J. Eq. 316, 7 A. 432, 56 Am.Rep. 1 (1886).

See also the following federal law, prohibiting private takings:

The Public Use Clause provides that “one person's property may not be taken for the benefit of another private person without a justifying public purpose, even though compensation is paid.” Hawaii Hous. Auth. v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229, 241 (1984) (quoting Thompson v. Consol. Gas Corp., 300 U.S. 55, 80 (1937). Because a private taking cannot be constitutional even if compensated, “[a] plaintiff that proves that a government entity has taken its property for a private, not a public, use is entitled to an injunction against the unconstitutional taking, not simply compensation.” Carole Media LLC v. N.J. Transit Corp., 550 F.3d 302, 308 (3d Cir. 2008).

 

UNREASONABLE SEIZURES ARE PROHIBITED BY ARTICLE I, PAR. 7 OF THE NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTION

They also violated the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures (see also Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution).  They seized and confiscated a residential property valued at $475,000 (plus his business as well) for a small amount of disputed taxes.  These are truly criminal acts.

If you can listen and publish my story, you will be shocked of what these judges have been doing to shake people up for money.  They essentially blackmailing them: you either pay, or you lose your home;  you either pay or we put you to jail; you either pay or we take your license away,  and so on.

Here is a link, if you want to learn more about this case.   You will be really-really-really shocked regarding what they have done to me.

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-dishonesty-of-new-jersey-judges.html

See also the corruption tip regarding Ronald Lucas who defrauded the police and firemen fund by claiming on the job disability.

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2018/06/corruption-tip-passaic-county-sheriffs.html

 
We have evidence that Dr. Stephanatos was targeted by the government employees because he had filed lawsuits asking for equal protection regarding his excessive property taxes.  That is why they violated the constitution and confiscated his property for taxes that he did not even owe.  These are absolutely unethical and even criminal acts. 

===================================



Report: Local courts reap $400M in fines, fees in 2017




By By MIKE CATALINI

Associated Press
July 17, 2018


New Jersey's municipal courts made $400 million in fines and fees in 2017, sometimes imposing "never-ending" and "overwhelming" financial obligations on people, a Supreme Court report said Tuesday.


The Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines and Fees unveiled the report including a list of 49 recommendations for changes to the state's municipal courts, which frequently serve as the judiciary's face in communities across the state.


Among the changes recommended are mandated hearings to determine defendants' ability to pay, as well as monitoring the use of contempt of court fees that go directly into municipal coffers.

"The committee was deeply concerned about what can be a never-ending imposition of mandatory financial obligations that have little to do with the fair administration of justice," Judge Julio Mendez, who chaired the committee, said in a statement. "They can be financially overwhelming, can disproportionately impact the poor, and often become the starting point for an ongoing cycle of court involvement for individuals with limited resources."

The report also found that penalties can vary greatly from judge to judge and court to court.

The document, which follows a 2016 Asbury Park Press investigation into municipal court fees and fines, cautions against courts becoming pressured by towns' concerns for greater revenues. The newspaper found, among other things, that residents faced nearly $200 fines for failing to renew a dog license in time. The judiciary cited the newspaper report in its findings.

New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner commissioned the panel in 2017. He says these courts handle millions of cases a year and called on them to adhere to high standards of independence and fairness.

The report said that New Jersey's local courts compared favorably to other states' and pointed in particular to mandatory training that judges and staff are required to participate in.

But it also sketched a number of concerns, including "excessive use" of discretionary contempt assessments.


"The Committee identifies that these practices at times have more to do with generating revenue than the fair administration of justice," the report said.

New Jersey has 515 such courts. Judges are appointed for three-year terms and can be re-appointed. In most cases the appointment process is set by towns' governing bodies.