There is an episode of Seinfeld where he goes to pick up a rental car with Elaine and learns that the car rental place does not have his car. He explains to the Rep that she knows how to take reservations but does not know how to hold reservations - the whole point to the reservation in the first place.

Joking aside, Seinfeld makes a point.

Adding to the cesspool of moronic, asinine, corrupt, irresponsible behavior spurred and fueled by capitalist greed, yet another senseless 'accident' occured today at 2:15 p.m. EST in Manhattan's Upper East Side (between 51st Street and 2nd Avenue). Accident? I should say, 'killing' because that is what it really comes down to:

Despite multiple violations and what many passersby even deemed 'unsafe', a construction site with an 'unstable' crane continued to stand until the crane crashed into a building killing four people, thus far.

What is the point of a violation if it goes unanswered? What is the point to a violation if it is ignored and leads to death(s)? What is the point of SAFETY VIOLATIONS if it fails to protect the public safety?

It is one thing to dispense violations - the whole point is to correct them - and if they are left uncorrected, the construction company, architect, and project manager(s) should be assessed heavy punitive damages.

How about this:

If a site gets a violation, shut it down. If it is clear to a passersby that a site is unsafe, shut it down. (Neighboring residents even joked about the site, expecting an accident to happen any second as they prudently decided to cross to the opposite street to avoid potential harm.)  Correct the violation(s) then - and not until then - let the construction proceed.

That site was not just an 'accident waiting to happen', it was a site of ocular bureaucracy, 'passing the buck', negligence, cheap neglect and irresponsibility to say the least.

Today so much attention is focused on 'celebutardism' and political sex scandals. What about infractions that are left unanswered to the detriment of innoncent lives?

One death is one too many. A life lost can not be replaced, must not be overlooked, and should not be left unaccounted.

For what happened this afternoon, shame on you Manhattan.

Shame on you Scott Stringer (Manhattan Burough President) for knowing about this and failing to act. Your pointless rhetoric and inaction perpetrated these murders.

Shame on you department of buildings.

Shame on you architect, construction company, project manager, and crane company.

Unfortunately, the greater shame here is it will not be the first nor the last time this happens...and we are so proud of the ongoing rebuilding, renovations, and construction around the city...

Progress, indeed...