Recent comments in /f/nyc

fieryscribe t1_jacoqxo wrote

Reply to comment by Karrick in Consultants Gone Wild by ToffeeFever

You should read the entire report. For example, they state that the NYCT could have done the initial designs since they had the standards and an in-house team:

> A review of detailed work modifications shared with us show that managing these interfaces between NYCT and Phase 1 designers meant that MTA CC had to instruct and pay its designers millions of additional dollars to redesign turnstiles after specifications changed, lay out new floor-tiling plans because NYCT objected to the proposed tiles’ dimensions, add internal partitions to public toilets, relocate CCTV locations, and revise the fire alarm system. Since NYCT had exacting standards, perhaps with new, experienced leadership who had a track record of planning, designing, and managing a megaproject, it could have designed the extension it wanted while also maintaining the project’s scope, schedule, and budget.

It's incompetence to hire consultants and then tell them to figure out what you want. That's what the report says.

You're also quoting me as saying "incompetent bureaucrats" when I said no such thing. That was some other guy.

My main point is that the MTC CC hired consultants, gave them free reign and relied on them for everything and then costs ballooned. That's incompetence. That's the wrong way to use consultants.

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Karrick t1_jacocct wrote

Reply to comment by fieryscribe in Consultants Gone Wild by ToffeeFever

Tell me, who is going to manage the consultants on capital projects when there is no one left to manage the consultants on capital projects? Would it perhaps be other consultants instead of your "incompetent bureaucrats who have little expertise in their field"? Why yes, yes it would.

From the OP article: >By 2011, the MTA had trimmed its in-house capital projects management group of 1,600 full-time employees (circa 1990) to just 124, tasked with steering $20 billion in investment.

From your own quote: >Specifically, we were told that instead of being handed design guidelines at the start of the project, it was the consultants who developed those guidelines first, sometimes in conflict with NYCT standards

I would also point out that as the OP article touches on, incompetence and a lack of experience are not the same thing, especially where these decades-long megaprojects are concerned, but I feel like that fine a distinction might be lost on you.

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Grandpachill t1_jaco1gk wrote

Reply to Consultants Gone Wild by ToffeeFever

Conservatives insist on "public-private partnerships" and competitive bidding that syphon off profits in the name of the free market and smaller government, and they won't allow the government workforce to grow to perform these tasks permanently.

Thus, the only alternatives left are KBR, Halliburton, and other contractors and consultants who are friends of the political class.

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astrrisk t1_jacmqur wrote

Reply to comment by TurbulentArea69 in Someone in Richmond hill is torturing cats. by bedbuffaloes

VEG in Carle Place is closer to Queens if they ever need a backup for a 24/7 emergency vet. I've personally used VEG for one of my two cats nowadays and two of them when I was growing up and have only had good experiences - only issue is they overcharge for medicine, but that's to be expected.

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olli_bombastico t1_jacmh22 wrote

Reply to comment by -Tony in Consultants Gone Wild by ToffeeFever

Yeah, I am one of those consultants and work with MBTA, OGS, and NYCSCA often. They basically outsource the work they don't have people to do in-house. We are called "consultants" just because we are a third party in most cases.

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fieryscribe t1_jacm4qz wrote

Reply to comment by Karrick in Consultants Gone Wild by ToffeeFever

It's in the report:

> On this last point, a number of people told us that MTA CC had a difficult time wrangling NYCT even with its consultants, but without the consultants it would have been impossible.
> ...
> Second, several consultants who worked on Phase 1 told us that the lack of internal capacity and a clear sense of what the agency wanted meant that consultants wasted time solving basic problems that should have been determined prior to hiring a consultant ... Specifically, we were told that instead of being handed design guidelines at the start of the project, it was the consultants who developed those guidelines first, sometimes in conflict with NYCT standards

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