LIU: HALF OF PARK PROJECTS FINISH BEHIND SCHEDULE : Audit Finds Months-Long Delays, Millions in Cost Overruns In Park Construction Projects

অনলাইন ডেস্ক পঠিত: 122 বার

প্রকাশিত: January 14, 2013 | 8:46 AM

NEW YORK, N.Y. —City Comptroller John C. Liu today announced that the Parks Department’s failure to monitor its capital construction projects had allowed almost half of those projects to finish late and 10% to go significantly over budget in Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011.

“New Yorkers and visitors alike love our parks. Repairs and upgrades must be better managed not only to reduce wasteful spending, but also to minimize the duration of park closures,”Comptroller Liu said. “The Parks Department can do better.”

In FY2010-FY2011, the Parks Department completed 315 capital construction projects, at a cost of $496.3 million. Comptroller Liu’s audit found that:

149 (47%) of those projects finished late. The projects were 218 days late on average. These late projects were supposed to have been complete within 284 days on average, so the delays resulted in almost doubling the length of time planned for completion.

30 projects combined to rack up $10 million in cost overruns, over and above the additional $8.6 million in contingency allowances for overruns that they burned through. The projects had been budgeted at a combined cost of $69.6 million.

Despite spending $4 million to correct consultants’ design errors and omissions on various projects, the Parks Department did not use its right to try and recoup the money.

Comptroller Liu’s Audit Bureau launched the audit in response to numerous complaints from New Yorkers, including calls to the Comptroller’s 212-NO-WASTE hotline, and after independently assessing that an examination of the agency’s capital projects was warranted.

The audit recommended several steps that the Parks Department should take to better ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. For example, the audit recommended that the Parks Department flag projects for priority completion so that delayed work can be expedited.

Today’s audit is available for download here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/audit/yearlyview.asp?selaudyear=2013

The complete list of projects that were delayed or overbudget is available in the audit’s appendix.

Parks Projects That Were Significantly Overbudget And Delayed

Project Description	Borough	Delay Days	Over Budget Amt
POE PARK VISITORS CENTER	Bronx	578	$ 1,234,802
SOUNDVIEW PARK – CONSTR OF	Bronx	693	$ 777,884
EDENWALD PLAYGROUND	Bronx	187	$ 163,000
CHARLTON GARDEN PLGD	Bronx	213	$ 139,150
SCHOOLYARDS @ PS105K, PS 112, PS 205, PS 247	Brooklyn	555	$ 572,000
KAISER PARK – REC BLDG	Brooklyn	930	$ 449,674
ROBERT E. VENABLE PARK	Brooklyn	182	$ 435,990
ROBERT E. VENABLE PARK	Brooklyn	421	$ 161,028
RIVERSIDE PARK	Manhattan	366	$ 1,753,617
PAVEMENTS, SIDEWALKS	Manhattan	653	$ 800,000
UNION SQUARE PK – CONSTR OF	Manhattan	325	$ 309,454
SCHOOLYARDS @ PS 129Q, PS 79, JHS 25, PS 159	Queens	53	$ 182,000
SCHOOLYARDS @ PS 116Q & IS 238	Queens	284	$ 100,949
CONSTR OF TUSCAN GARDEN & LEMON HOUSE, SNUG HARBOR	Staten Island	1071	$ 804,367