Oh shit. Now our golden goose, our knight in shining armor is having problems. International developer/baller Bashar Issa, according to this article is in real hot water and not only in Buffalo but England as well.
Here is the gist, a construction worker in England died on a site that Issa was building a hotel. Allegedly the site was not properly regulated and possible manslaughter charges could be brought against him. Issa blamed the incident on poor management and may be in some deep shit. To add to his problems, local union muscle is bringing up b.s. charges about safety conditions because not enough of Issa's workers aren't union members and are making pennies compared to them. Issa himself described the situation as simply “distractions instigated by Laborers Local 210” to force his company into agreeing to a contract."
All of this could add up to bad things not only for the currently under renovation Statler towers but also the proposed 40 story building Issa is proposing for downtown Buffalo. “We’ll have to revisit the numbers on construction on the tower, and if they don’t work, we won’t do the project,” Issa said. “We want to be in Buffalo and do these wonderful projects, but the investment has to make sense.”
This is pissing me off. Unions are pissing me off. Can anything get done in this city without lawsuits, unions bitching, extreme regulations, high taxes and other anti-development impetuses? It is the same old story every time.
Here is a supposedly honest guy who sees what many of us in this area see, a wonderful city worth investing in and he can't even do that! Now I can't speak for the incident in the UK but in reference to the Buffalo situation, it most definitely sounds like a bunch of bullshit. Who do these union ass holes think they are? Are they that dumb and not realize that if you keep running these deep pocketed investors out of the area because they don't hire enough union workers sooner than later there will be no investors and consequently no jobs?!?!
If the pie in the sky 40 story building doesn't get built I won't be shocked, buttt if the Statler renovation isn't completed because of bullshit regulations and union strong arming, shit is going down. I will absolutely snap, a call to arms will be sent out, and I will bring war to anyone that illegally or ignorantly gets in this mans way to spend money and bring back to life a once beautiful building.
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6 comments:
You should really research your facts. The employees at the Statler Towers were only making $8.00 an hour, injuries were not covered, and they were working with asbestos. One poor guy needed stitches after getting hurt and was told to pay for the emergency room visit himself! The unskilled labor that was hired to do dangerous and hazardous work for pennies deserves some representation when management won't pay them anything. Bashar has been investigated and fined for unsafe working conditions many times and now there has been a death on one of his sites and he still wants to lay the blame on everyone else. Bashar said "It doesn't make sense" when it comes to benefits and paying a person a decent wage so they can pay their bills. So while this guy sits on his money hardworking people are being denied benefits that they deserve. Hell he could at least pay for the stitches!
I am an EX employee of BS construction in manchester U.K. and as a comment in the local press put it "I wouldnt let him (bashar issa) build a house out of lego,and i couldnt agree more.In my 20 years in the idustry I have NEVER EVER seen anything even coming near to the utter shambles that i saw in manchester it would have been a joke if it wasnt for the loss of life and the many injuries on site.I would relish the chance to exchange information with any interested parties.
Regards;Manchester man
I am EX employee of bs constructioun in manchester U.K. and as a comment in a local paper said"I wouldnt trust him to build a house out of lego"and i couldnt agree more.Iv been in the managment of costruction sites for 20 years and i have NEVER EVER seen anything even coming near to the utter shambles that i saw during my brief time at BSC.It would be a joke if it wasnt for the loss of life and personal injury of the workers.I would relish the opertunity to share my knowlage further with any interested parties if thay wanted to leave there email on the blog.
Regards Manchester man
The man is an idiot. He has no management skills as far as construction goes. I worked for him. Everything that needed to be purchased had to first be approved by him first. None the less, it was a big process to get what you needed. Another thing that is he didn't want to spend any money. He wanted to pay skilled tradesmen pennies to perform work. This guy is delusional when he thinks he can pay skilled workers $10/hr. He has no concept of how construction works here in the states. That place (Statler) will never be finished let alone his so called tower.
pushing a broom and wheelbarrel is not skilled labor, and a monkey could do the same thing.
WNY is run by organized crime, and it is the OC that is causing the problems for the people of WNY.
Get rid of the masons and other organized criminals, and then WNY will prosper
hello ... you're going to be interested in this in the Manchester Evening News ...
"A HIGH-PROFILE property developer has been quizzed by police in connection with an accident which killed a worker.
Bashar Issa was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
He was questioned about the death of Jan Tobolski, 47, from Poland, who died when he was hit by a steel beam while working on a site in Lena Street, Piccadilly, three years ago.
He was working on the the 23-storey Sarah Tower. Named after Mr Issa’s wife, the skyscraper was due to have been built close to Piccadilly Station.
Following the incident the company Mr Tobolski worked for – BS Construction – was issued with 14 prohibition notices and five improvement notices.
The site was shut down and the building never finished. In 2008 BS Construction and two of Mr Issa’s other companies – BS Developments and Issa Developments – were forced into administration, facing debts understood to approach £45m.
Last year Mr Issa – who also wanted to build twin tower skyscrapers in Salford – was declared bankrupt.
A building project he was working on in New York State was also forced into bankruptcy.
In a statement Greater Manchester Police said: “As part of a joint investigation between GMP and the Health and Safety Executive, a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
“He has since been released without charge. A file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service. Inquiries are continuing.”
Mr Tobolski’s death is mentioned in a report calling for research into why migrant construction workers are at a far higher risk of death than native workers.
The Centre for Corporate Accountability revealed that of the 46 deaths of migrant workers in England between 2001-08, more than half were in construction.
Their report says Mr Tobolski died when a metal girder he was trying to move with a ‘makeshift’ pulley fell on him on August 1, 2007. No inquest has been held into the death.
Mr Issa has dual British-Iraqi nationality. He began with apartments in Kent before moving to Manchester in 2002 at the height of the building boom."
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