More Oversight Sought for Collapsed Wisconsin Avenue Building

Phrases like "conflict of interest" and "cover-up report" were uttered by Georgetown's Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANC2E) Monday night when they learned that the owner of a building — — would be responsible for hiring a structural engineer to determine why it collapsed in the first place.

On and two neighboring structures were damaged in the process. Since that time the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) has because contractors were performing work there without proper permits.

Gil Davidson, an inspector for DCRA, told Georgetown commissioners that the official cause for the collapse has not been determined.

"We leave that responsibility to the structural engineers. The owners of the property, they have to hire a structural engineer to make that assessment," he said.

Previously, DCRA spokesman Helder Gil told Patch that one of the agency's inspectors determined the collapse was likely caused by removing too much dirt from beneath the footings on the north and south walls of the building.

Several commissioners balked at the prospect of the building's owner, Mohammad Esfahani, being responsible for any sort of structural assessment.

"That seems like a conflict of interest," said Commissioner Tom Birch. "I worry about a cover-up report coming from an individual who is hired by the property owner to explain what happened at the property."

Birch's concerns were echoed by Commissioner Bill Starrels, who was on the commission with Birch 10 years ago.

Starrels said he remembered "terse, closed-door meetings" with the then director of DCRA when they fined Esfahani for demolition by neglect. And now, said Starrels, "we have to hear that this guy is responsible [for selecting an engineer]?"

He asked DCRA to do more, "I would feel a lot better if the city stepped in."

Majett said if there is concern of a "bad actor" he would refer the case to the Office of the Attorney General.

After commenting on the limited resources available to inspect all of the properties DCRA issues permits for, Majett eventually said his agency could inspect the property in lieu of a third party contractor, "if we thought there was some wrongdoing or we didn’t trust the owner."

In the short-term, Commissioner Ed Solomon asked DCRA to at least be certain that shoring has been done and done properly on the walls of 1424 Wisconsin Ave. and neighboring properties to prevent any of them from falling into the sizable hole left in the wake of the collapse.