• Accident Reconstruction
• Admiralty & Maritime
• Architecture
• Brick & Stone
• Building Codes
• Civil Engineering
• Concrete/Cement
• Construction
• Construction Damages
• Construction Safety
• Demolition
• Design Engineering
• Disabled Access
• Environmental
• Environmental Engineering
• Failure Analysis
• Fire
• Flooring
• Forensic Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Glass
• Home Inspections
• Hydraulic Engineering
• Hydrology & Groundwater
• Interior Design
• Ladders & Scaffolds
• Landlord/Tenant
• Lath & Plaster
• Lighting & Illumination
• Marine Engineering
• Metallurgy
• Occupational Medicine
• OSHA
• Personal Injury
• Pipelines
• Pollution
• Premises Liability
• Private Investigators
• Professional Engineering
• Real Estate Valuation
• Residential Real Estate
• Roofing
• Safety
• Safety Engineering
• Sanitary Engineering/Waste Management
• Scheduling Delay & Analysis
• Slip, Trip & Fall
• Soil
• Structural Engineering
• Tile
• Traffic/Highway Safety
• Transportation Construction
• Utilities
• Vinyl
• Walking & Working Surfaces
• Water/Sewage Treatment Engineering
• Waterproofing
• Weather & Meteorology
• Wood Products & Lumber

Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:

A: I hold the following degrees, licenses, and certificates:
....Bachelor of Engineering: Manhattan College
....Licensed Professional Engineer: New York State Dept. of Education
....Water Distribution Operator-Class D License: N. Y. State Dept. of Health
....Fallout Shelter Survey Technician: FEMA
....Member: Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering National Honor Society
....Expeditor (Professional Status): New York City Department of Buildings

Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:

A: I am a member of the following organizations:

....The American Concrete Institute (ACI).
....The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).
....The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
....The American Wood Council (AWC).
....The American Water Works Association (AWWA).
....The International Code Council (ICC).
....The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
....The Westchester County Municipal Planning Federation.

Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:

A: The following Continuing Education Classes were approved by the New York State Department of Education. They were designed by Mr. Ettari and are being offered through Professional Engineering Continuing Education (www.pece.biz), which is a New York State Education Department approved sponsor of continuing education courses for Licensed Professional Engineers and Registered Architects. These courses were approved by the New York State Education Department as Approved Continuing Education Courses for both Licensed Professional Engineers and Registered Architects.

....I have designed and taught the following class:

1. Design and Installation Criteria for Water Supply Mains (over five sessions of this course have been taught)

2. Computation of Storm Water Runoff and the Design and Installation Criteria for Storm Water Mains, Drainage Culverts, and Storm Water Retention Facilities (over five sessions of this course have been taught)

3. Design of New Low-Rise Commercial, Mercantile, and Office Buildings: Parts 1 and 2

4. Design of Low-Rise Places of Public Assembly, Parts 1 and 2.

5. Design of Site Plans, Part 1 (five sessions of this course have been taught)

6. Design of Site Plans, Part 2 (four sessions of this course have been taught)

....Copies of my Teaching Certificates and Certifications are available upon request.

Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)

A: No.

Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?

A: If you consider my design and municipal work to constitute the rendering of engineering expertise, than every client who hires me (both for design work, inspection work, and trial investigation work) has hired me because I am an expert in civil, structural, environmental, coastal, and/or site engineering.

Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?

A: Civil, Structural, Environmental, Coastal, and Site Engineering.

Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?

A: I do not keep such records.

Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?

A: I do not keep such records.

Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?

A: About seven times as a consultant since 1987. During the four years that I worked for the City of New York, Department of Environmental Protection, I testified at hundreds of EBTs.

Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?

A: Autum of 2008.

Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?

A: About 36 times as a consultant. Many times as an employee of the City of New York, Department of Environmental Protection.

Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?

A: About 36 times as a consultant. Many times as an employee of the City of New York, Department of Environmental Protection.

Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?

A: About 28 years. My first employment was with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. During my four years with that Agency, I testified at hundreds of EBT's. Since I became a Licensed Professional Engineer, I have continued, on a year by year basis, to perform investigative work for attorneys and insurance carriers. The total time would be, about, 28 years.

Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)

A: I offer the following services.

1. Site Inspections: Includes geometrical measurements (slopes, riser heights, tread widths, handrail heights, beam sizes, column sizes, footing sizes, et. al. ; Illumination Measurements (if necessary); Friction Tests (if necessary); etc.

2. Municipal Research: Secure Assessment and Building Records from the local municipality for the item in question.

3. Code Identification:

a) Identify when the subject item was constructed and to which codes it was subject at the time that it was built, and
b) Identify the maintenance codes which were in effect from the date of construction to the date of the incident.

4. Analyze the requirements of the codes for the item in question.

5. Produce a detailed report which outlines the history of the subject item, identifies the applicable codes and sections thereof relevant to the item, discusses the standards and requirements of those codes to the subject item, and then renders an opinion as to whether or not the item conformed to those standards and requirements.

Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?

A: The rate is by the type of claim being litigated.

Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?

A: The rate is by the type of claim being litigated.

Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?

A: I do not charge an hourly rate for this work. Rather, I charge a daily rate. That rate depends on which County or Borough I have to testify in. In most instances the opposing side has to pay my daily rate for a deposition. I set the rate at the time I am retained.

Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?

A: I do not charge an hourly rate for this work. Rather, I charge a daily rate. That rate depends on which County or Borough I have to testify in. I set the rate at the time I am retained.

Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)

A: Travel Expenses, Copy Expenses, Purchase of Weather Reports, Purchase of Copies of Municipal Records, Photographic Expenses, etc.

I view myself more as an engineer / designer than as a "trial expert". I
have rendered design work for Loral Electronics Systems & Lockheed Martin
(both of these firms are publicly traded). I have also rendered services
to other very well known firms and development groups.
.
When I was in the employment of New York City, I worked in both New York
County (Manhattan) & Bronx County. As a result, I dealt with many of the
attorneys of Corporation Council in both of those counties whenever I was
called upon to testify concerning water main breaks and the water damages
which they caused to surrounding buildings and premises.
.
Since then, I have rendered services to attorneys and insurance carriers
with regard to claims and filings. I can supply client names and contact
information upon request (and, with the permission of my clients).
.
However, since an "expert" is supposed to be a person who has specialized
experience or training concerning the item about which he is testifying,
would it not better serve an attorney's purposes for me to send copies of
the building permits, zoning resolutions, planning resolutions, NYS - DEC
Permits, Army Corps of Engineers Permits, or the County Health Department
Permits on which I am listed as the Engineer of Record for items which I
designed and which are similar to the item which is the subject of their
claim and litigation?
.
I am the Engineer of Record for about 30 Commercial/Industrial Site Plans
(including a site plan for Signal Tower Company, Incorp., which owned the
Tower Site on Senior Hill, in Carmel / Lake Mahopac, New York); about 30
Subdivisions (most recent was a 25 lot subdivision in Pawling, New York,
which was being developed by Castagna Americana); two marinas (I designed
King's Marina from scratch & I designed a dredging project, with various
improvements to the in - water structures, for the Cortlandt Yacht Club),
both of which were approved by the NYS-DEC & the Army Corps of Engineers;
and hundreds of residential site plans. I am also the Engineer of Record
for numerous structures, including decks, homes, multi-family structures,
small commercial buildings, and places of public assembly (including a
restaurant / pizzeria).