SF New England 'Dark Knight' construction halted

A stop-work order has been issued on construction of Six Flags New England's The Dark Knight Coaster due to lack of a building permit. The park, which last week received Zoning Board approval for the 70-foot-tall building that will house the ride, had apparently begun work on the building before securing the proper permits. "The building is all framed and up," said building inspector Dominic Urbinati, who called it "unlawful work without permits." "The bottom line is they don't have a building permit," said Zoning Board of Appeals member Gary E. Suffriti. Suffriti and board member James C. Marmo received a tip last week which led to them visiting the construction site. "I was floored; I'll be quite honest with you," Suffriti said. "This building has been being built. It had to have been being built for a couple of months." "There's going to be hundreds of people on that ride," added Marmo. "Heaven forbid there's a fire in there."

Six Flags public relations manager Melissa M. Pinkerton was unable to directly answer the question of why work proceeded without a building permit, stating, "We're working closely with the town so that all parties will be satisfied." Pinkerton also said Six Flags officials will meet with the state Department of Public Safety on March 5 to review the ride, adding, "I can assure you that safety is our number one priority." When asked about construction documents, Pinkerton said, "We have submitted the initial documents. We are making some revisions, and we are in the process of resubmitting them (to the building inspector). We are still aiming for the Memorial Day weekend opening."