New York Construction Accident & Safety News

The New York City Buildings Department has cited yet another contractor for a construction accident that occurred down at ground zero. Newsday.com has more details:

A construction worker has broken his leg in an accident at a toxic ground zero tower where two firefighters were killed over a year ago.

The accident happened last week in the basement level of the former Deutsche Bank tower, where workers were removing debris. Officials say an excavator struck the LVI Environmental Services worker and he broke his right leg.

New York City’s Buildings Department cited the contractor for not providing enough shoring or netting for fall protection. The accident is the most serious at the site since LVI took over the job cleaning debris and dismantling the building, which was badly damaged on Sept. 11.

The city of New York is putting in more strict guidelines for construction work in the city, and it seems to be resulting in a more vigilant Buildings Commission. Newsday.com reports on the new rules and the early results:

In June, the Council and Bloomberg laid out a 15-point legislative package for stricter enforcement and regulations for crane operations and to improve overall safety at construction sites citywide.

The package led to a series of requirements, including mandatory safety training for tower crane workers, requiring mandatory submission of detailed rigging plans and banning the use of nylon slings to secure tower cranes. Nylon slings were cited as a cause in one of the crane collapses.

Buildings Department Commissioner Robert LiMandri said yesterday that since the March 15 collapse, his department issued more than 400 stop-work orders in 2008, or more than double the previous year. The city in May also added $5.3 million to the Buildings Department budget to fund dozens of new positions for oversight and enforcing construction safety requirements.

The district attorney of New York City has brought homicide charges up against William Rapetti, owner of a rigging company that was responsible for a construction accident and seven deaths earlier this year. The 19 story tower crane fell while workers were trying to lengthen it.

Mr. Rapetti and the firm were charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, a person familiar with the indictment who wasn’t authorized to announce the charges said on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Rapetti’s company in Massapequa Park was one of three contractors fined over $300,000 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations stemming from the collapse.

The agency said Mr. Rapetti had failed to comply with the crane manufacturer’s specifications when erecting and raising the steel tower, and didn’t provide enough safety protection to keep workers from falling.