That's the thing about "motives", that you can't never prove or disprove one unless confessed by the "motivator" right?. So the only way to gather "evidence" would be to test the system and see if its actually dangerous or if its all bs.
(Not sure that's the case here, but) when it all boils down to a he-said, she-said argument, the only thing you have at your disposal in decision-making is your perception of the character of the two parties. So yes, whichever side you like better.
Not sure that's the case here, but) when it all boils down to a he-said, she-said argument,
You might want to question the validity of that assumption. Most likely the truth (was) basically knowable in this case, with a modicum of effort.
Just that Crain's apparently didn't want to take even baby steps in the direction of that effort -- i.e. the standard proactive, iterative follow-up that, you know, real journalists do: like contacting the entrepreneurial crane operator before publication to get their response to the DOB's claims about the composition of their rigs; and asking the DOB for their response to his response, etc. Or like, you know, talking to an independent expert or two. That kind of thing.
Instead they just did the usual throw-it-at-the-wall, see-if-it-sticks thing -- and presented it as a "he said, she said" story. Which may not have been all that illuminating or informative -- but at least got people to click on it, and (judging by the response here in this forum), to allow their buttons to be pushed.
City agencies don't just cave in to protests at the drop of the hat. Especially not NYC agencies.
So again, what I request is simply: evidence, not speculation.