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Some Williamsburg activists are scolding Brooklyn starchitect Robert Scarano for the accidental drilling of a hole into the Bedford Avenue subway station by workmen constructing new luxury condos that he designed.

But Scarano fired back, telling The Stoop that he’s being unjustly scapegoated ... again.

“I’m being unfairly blamed for construction problems in Williamsburg,” said Scarano. “I never knew architects got stop-work orders.”

On July 27, the Department of Buildings issued the dreaded stop-work order to the owners of a sleek, glass, nine-unit development called The Modern Williamsburg, on North 7th Street, between Driggs Avenue and Roebling Street, directly above the L-train subway station. The order cited the crew for “drilling into the subway wall” of the station.

According to Scarano, the responsibility for overseeing the work site is not his — it’s the contractors.

But Evan Thies, the chairman of Community Board 1’s environment committee, countered that “the architect decides what work is necessary or possible at a construction site.”

“He has a history of taking risks with the types of plans he tries to get built,” added Thies. “If you are building a building that does not fit in the footprint and can’t be supported by the foundation, then that’s a problem.”

Philip DePaolo, who lives down the street from The Modern Williamsburg, agrees.

“All these developers that want to abuse the system hire him, because he’s good at it,” said DePaolo. “Anything that Scarano’s involved with on this block, we’re very careful.”

Scarano is no stranger to the consternation of neighbors or the Buildings Department. He is widely credited with pioneering the use of mezzanines to get around square footage limitations in the city’s zoning laws. Last year, Scarano agreed to surrender his right to “self-certify” his designs. Now, unlike most architects, he must first get city approval for his designs.

In recent months, some politicians, particularly Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D-Park Slope), have begun targeting Scarano. DeBlasio has repeatedly called on the state to rescind Scarano’s architecture license — something Scarano called “shakedown tactics.”

“A lot of these politicians are using this to self-aggrandize, like this whole thing with DeBlasio,” said Scarano.

DePaolo, otherwise a fierce Scarano critic, agreed.

“Now all the electeds are going after him because it’s politically prudent,” said DePaolo.

Despite the complaints, Scarano is a prolific architect. He has designed more than 75 projects in Brooklyn, and more than 400 citywide. In December, he estimated he had another 200 in the works.

And he has little doubt that he will survive this latest brouhaha, too.

“A friend of mine told me people call me ‘the Energizer Bunny,’” said Scarano. No matter what charges are levied against him, he just keeps on going

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper