Fatalities Prompt NYC DoD Zero-Tolerance Safety Sweeps

After three workers were killed on the job in the past three weeks in NYC, the city’s Department of Buildings (DoB) plans to launch safety sweeps of thousands of major construction sites with “zero tolerance” for unsafe conditions, Real Estate Weekly was among outlets to report on June 1. DoB Commissioner Melanie La Rocca described the fatalities as “tragic, senseless and, even worse, entirely avoidable.” Two of the incidents involved workers falling from a scaffold and a roof in Queens and Brooklyn, respectively, while one involved an elevator falling down a shaft in the Bronx, killing one man and severely injuring another. DoB inspectors will be checking that workers have the proper personal protective equipment and that contractors are “closely adhering to NYC’s robust construction safety regulations,” among other things. Contractors not following regulations could be fined up to US$25,000 per violation.