New York Construction Accident & Safety News

It’s been just over one year since a deadly crane collapse on the east side of midtown Manhattan, and some from the community gathered at the spot to pay their respects to those who passed away in the accident. Residents in the area wanted to make sure they brought the situation to light so that they don’t have to see another accident happen in the city again.
 

"The community has said enough is enough - safety has to come before speed," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, at the vigil at 305 E. 50th St. "We’re not where we have to get to (but) we were able to make great gains. We will never tolerate one day where we see a crane breezy in the wind and think that’s OK."

The crane toppled from a 19-story building on East 51st Street and leveled a four-story town house. The seven victims included construction workers Brad Cohen, 54, from Farmingdale and Santino Gallone, 37, of Bellmore.

In the last year, the City Council has passed 12 laws concerning crane safety, including tougher rules on using the nylon straps that secure cranes. A recent city investigation found that the improperly rigged 11,000-pound steel brace on the tower crane fell after workers had attached only four of eight protective nylon slings.

Cranes are everywhere, especially in the East Side and Midtown Manhattan areas, but is it safe? There seems to be an escalating increase in construction accidents, with the crane accident that killed seven people being the latest. Liz Krueger thinks she knows the problem.

Our city’s approach to construction approvals and safety has been fundamentally flawed since changes were enacted by the Giuliani administration. Because of a lack of enforcement by the Department of Buildings, along with an extremely hot real estate market, many developers and their contractors ignore safety requirements, disregard building codes and violate zoning laws.

Ultimately, she thinks that there are several solutions, including the need to raise the city’s standards. Another key area is to actually enforce the standards that are in place – if we really want to avoid future incidents. Until then, we’re going to continue to see more needless construction accidents and even more construction accident lawsuits.