But Cahill's enthusiasm for the project also contributed to a series of construction delays for which Utzon was blamed.
He was appointed in 2008, after the resignation of Patricia J. Lancaster, following a series of construction accidents, including a crane collapse in Manhattan that killed seven people.
Helium plants that are being built or are already operational in Qatar, Algeria, Wyoming and elsewhere have experienced a series of construction delays or maintenance troubles.
"There are a lot of lawyers out there chasing mold cases, everybody is running to court, and that is resulting in a series of construction-defect lawsuits.
Further dangers arose when Occidental decided to keep the platform producing oil and gas as it set about a series of construction, maintenance and upgrade works.
The brick that fell from the apartment tower construction site atop the West Side Y.M.C.A. is the latest in a series of construction and demolition accidents in New York City ("Woman Suffers Minor Injuries When Brick Falls at 63rd Street Apartment Construction Site," news article, Aug. 25).
But the deadly crane collapse on Friday morning is the latest in a series of construction-related accidents that have left New Yorkers with a growing sense that Mr. Bloomberg has let high-rise construction proliferate without adequate oversight.
Prepared by the New York office of Diller Scofidio & Renfro in association with Fox & Fowle Architects, also of New York, the 65th Street plan is the first in a series of construction initiatives that will be undertaken at Lincoln Center in the next decade.
He said a lesson could be learned in the wake of a series of construction-related accidents, including two large crane collapses in the last three months that have left nine people dead.
But Mr. Jacobson appeared on the scene two years after 173 Perry Street's 2002 opening — and after a series of construction disputes, complaints of leaks and delays, had become public.
