Something Does Not Look Right In Front Of 205-207 Warren Street

What used to be in front?  Anything?

The contractor working on the long portion of sidewalk in front of 205-207 Warren Street should be finishing up work soon, reopening the sidewalk to pedestrians after at least three weeks of it being closed and forcing us all into the street.  According to the DPW clerk, the contractor was issued a DPW permit to block the sidewalk with the intention of being done by the end of June.

One wonders if someone at City Hall or the Planning Board gave permission to the owners of the building to create a step which projects so far into the sidewalk.  Was such a large step taking up nearly half of the width of the sidewalk necessary, especially with a sidewalk tree nearby forcing pedestrians away from the curb? (A quick look at the plans for this project, submitted to the Planning Board last year, shows nothing about sidewalk work, nor a step and a ramp in front.)

Whose idea was this?

As I understand things, anyone replacing a sidewalk must submit plans to DPW (or Code?) for approval to be sure there are no code violation or ADA issues.  What about the Planning Board?  When considering projects put in front of them, do they consider the shape and configuration of redone sidewalks and how stoops and steps in front of buildings affect the sidewalk?  My guess is that neither one of these things was done for 205-207 Warren, or someone made a mistake by granting approval for the step that is now concrete.  Do you think anyone from DPW (Robert Perry) or CEO (Craig Haigh) has stopped by 205-207 Warren in the past week or so to make sure that what the contractors are doing there on the sidewalk is acceptable?  HA!