who's going to live in all of these crap buildings?

i think i must have sounded like a broken record asking that question this past weekend? i spent much time walking around my own neighborhood of long island city and williamsburg and was stunned by the number of abominations aka luxury condos/rentals that are in the works. then, i read this article in the new york times that explained why there are so many of these nasty buildings being built. thanks to the giuliani administration, architects and engineers can approve their own building plans as long as they abide by the proper zoning and building codes:

Known as the professional certification program, the honor system was instituted under the Giuliani administration and was meant to trim costs by cutting the workload for the city's plan examiners. It was also intended to eliminate obstacles to building in a city where, at the time, construction projects could be delayed for months while builders waited for plans to be approved.

By participating in the professional certification program, architects guarantee to the city that their plans meet zoning and building codes. But the city has experienced a tremendous boom in new construction in the last several years, and officials have begun to worry that the honor system leaves too much room for architects and developers to run roughshod over zoning rules and safety regulations.

oh, you think? no wonder there is so much crap going up in the city, especially in brooklyn and queens. everyone who owns a piece of land thinks that they are going to make a ton of money, but i think that this is all going to backfire real soon. we'll see. also, this message goes out to frank gehry. your buildings suck, too. i'm tired of them, and the one that is going up on the west side is a nightmare with all of those bent columns. sheesh.