Superblock structure causes confusion

What has nine legs and has been sitting on the lawn of High Rise North since Thanksgiving break? For days, many students and university officials did not know what the three structures were. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said on Tuesday that she did not know why they were there. "I have no idea what they are there for or what they are," she said. She added that, although she is not an expert, "it looks like it is something related to electrical stuff." Simeone said it was probably related to a Physical Plant or Residential Maintenance project. But Physical Plant Executive Director Jim Wargo said he "had no idea" what the structures were. And Vice President for Facilities Management Arthur Gravina said he too did not know what they were. "It sounds weird, though," he said, suggesting that it might be a piece of art. He added that he thought Residential Maintenance would probably know more. And he was right. Associate Director of Residential Maintenance Al Zuino was able to solve this mystery. He explained yesterday that the wiring that feeds the light poles by High Rise North "shorted out." "We became aware of it and put up temporary wiring and ordered material to do permanent repair," he said. Zuino added that Physical Plant workers attached wire to two-by-four pieces of lumber in order to energize the poles. The wire had to be elevated because it poses a tripping hazard otherwise, Zuino said. He said the permanent repairs were done by Physical Plant workers yesterday. But there is yet another anomaly on Superblock. It seems that several of the lamp posts are bent at sharp angles. Wargo said this is the result of "people pulling and swinging on them." But Zuino disagreed about the cause of the disfigured lamp posts. "Typically what causes that is personal vehicles that back into the poles," he said. Wargo said, though, that repairing the lamp posts is not his department's responsibility. "I would love to do something about them," he said. "But unfortunately, once you cross the 38th Street Bridge that is under the prescient of Residential Maintenance." However, Zuino said he did not even think repairs are necessary, since there is nothing operationally wrong with the poles. "It would be pretty expensive to replace a pole," he added.