New York Construction Accident & Safety News

A new construction safety campaign has been launched in New York City this week by buildings commissioner Robert LiMandri. SILive.com reports:

A new campaign launching in New York City will remind construction workers to wear their harnesses and keep their lifelines attached. Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced the "Stay Connected" worker safety campaign Tuesday morning at a building trades conference in Manhattan.

The Buildings Department said in a statement that four people who died in construction accidents this year might have lived if they had proper safety guards to prevent them from falling. The safety campaign will include print, radio and television advertisements in both English and Spanish.

In the wake of construction accidents involving cranes in New York City, new laws are taking shape to ensure the safety of the workers. But are the new laws too much? Many claim that they are having a harder time getting things done on the jobsite because of them.

[T]he city’s construction industry says the rules have become too unwieldy to follow, are hard to enforce and often cause costly delays. Contractors say construction sites are often shut down for days or weeks for minor violations, like a missing piece of paperwork or a messy site. A shutdown at a high-profile site can run a contractor or developer over $100,000 a day.

"In some respects, it’s already overkill," said Louis Coletti, president of New York’s Building Trades Employers Association. "You’ve got new rules and regulations coming out every day."

Since the March 15 and May 30 crane accidents, the city has passed laws that require a 30-hour training course for tower crane workers, limit the use of nylon slings that hold construction loads, mandate regular safety meetings before raising or lowering the cranes, and overhaul licensing requirements for mobile crane operators.

OSHA is investigating the trench collapse at a construction site in Clifton Park, New York where one worker was killed. The construction accident has lawyers from Trolman, Glaser and Lichtman talking about the value of safety regulations on the job site.

I agree with Edward Jerome, the area’s director of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that there are specific regulations regarding "sloping and shoring a trench to prevent collapses." The rules are there, they must be followed. Furthermore, it demonstrates a failure to adhere to the mandates of the labor law of the state of New York.

While much of this blog focuses on the tragedies that happen surrounding construction accidents in New York, a bright spot has been found. Father Brian Jordan ran the New York City marathon on Sunday with a specific goal in mind: to help start a fund for families of construction workers killed on the job.

Jordan is a priest who was a spiritual advisor to crews at the World Trade Center site. He was particularly affected by two crane accidents that killed eight workers last spring. He decided to run to honor all 21 city construction workers who have died this year and to launch a foundation to help those who are left behind.

"Construction workers work by the hour. Even though they’re members of the unions, there’s no widow and children’s benefit fund for them. So myself and a bunch of labor leaders began to discuss this," said Jordan. "As of Monday, we are beginning a construction worker’s relief fund."

The Building Trades and Construction Council will oversee the fund. Jordan says anyone can donate money towards the cause.