PACOIMA : Mayor Assails Inspectors Over Building’s Flaws

Saying that he was astonished at its shoddy workmanship, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley on Thursday demanded that city building inspectors explain their failure to catch major flaws in a Pacoima youth center.

Bradley spoke at a news conference to announce a $1.5-million fund-raising drive to tear down and replace the 6-year-old building, which a private structural engineer says would collapse in a windstorm or earthquake.

But Robert Harder, the Building and Safety Department official in charge of construction plans, said the 24,500-square-foot Boys and Girls Club of the San Fernando Valley could be repaired. Harder minimized the risk to hundreds of youths who use it, and said that his department should not be held responsible for failing to notice such flaws as wall studs that do not reach the floor.