Results tagged “constructionfatality”

A $4 million study released by the Department of Buildings finds that the department isn't that great! The study was prompted by last year's numerous construction fatalities and, according to the Daily News, the study found that "Buildings Department inspectors are poorly trained, inspections are frequently slipshod and fines are routinely laughed off as 'the cost of doing business.'" Other ringing endorsements: "Inspectors are currently not uniformly equipped to judge the acceptability of common unsafe conditions" and there is "no current method to confirm that crane repairs restore [a damaged] crane to proper working condition." The study made dozens of recommendations to the DOB, which has already started incorporating them.

The Department of Buildings issued a stop work order at 420 Park Avenue South, a construction site where worker Anthony Paino, 28, fell 10 stories to his death yesterday. The building planned for the site is the Gansevoort Park, a 19-story hotel. According to the Staten Island Advance, "A preliminary investigation indicated that Paino was preparing the job site for concrete work...He was supposed to have been working on a column close to the building's edge, but inside protective guardrails, according to Levine Builders, the general contractor for the project." The Daily News, which said it was Paino's first day at the site, reports that it appears, per other workers, that Paino was not wearing a required harness, "Paino had climbed outside a safety railing to install or repair some rebar, coworkers said. He was standing on a flimsy piece of plywood that gave way under his weight." Friends say Paino just bought a house with his fiancee and worked another job as a pizza delivery man.

This morning, a 28-year-old construction worker fell 9 stories from a building at 420 Park Avenue (at 29th Street) and was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. The worker had landed on scaffolding of a neighboring building. CityRoom reports that, according to the Department of Buildings, it didn't appear that worker was wearing a harness and that the DOB would probably issues citations later. The 420 Park Avenue is the future home of the Gansevoort Park, a 19th story hotel run by the same group as the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District.

Wind gusts of up to 60 mph swept into the region yesterday, downing trees and utility poles, killing three people and injuring many others. Neighborhoods were without power, some bridges were temporarily closed, and airports delayed flights until the winds slowed in the evening. A meteorologist told the Daily News, "We often see storms with gusts around 40 mph. We had widespread gusts of 45-55 mph with some up to 60 mph. That extra 10 mph makes a big difference."

Be careful outside: The incredibly strong wind gusts are wreaking havoc all over the area. WCBS 2 reports that a tree fell onto a car on NJ Route 22, killing the driver and that, on Long Island, a LIRR crossing gate was blown into the air, injuring four people. And the Staten Island Advance says that wind gusts played a part in a wall collapse that killed a construction worker. With wind gusts of up to 60 mph, there have been various reported of downed trees, utility poles, and scaffolding around the city. There are also power outages in the region.

It's a phrase that's become too familiar: Yesterday, a worker died in a construction accident. According to the Daily News, Miguel Rodriguez, 38, fell five stories from his scaffolding: "Rodriguez was wearing a harness, but it was not tethered to the W. 111th St. building in Morningside Heights where he was repointing bricks, witnesses and officials said." In Brooklyn, a worker was injured when he fell three stories at a site--he was not wearing his harness. Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri said, "These things should never happen. If you're a construction worker, be safe, wear your harness and tie your lifeline." Just last week, a crane rigger fell 40 stories--he, too, was wearing a harness but it was not attached to anything.

Yesterday, a construction worker fell 50 stories to his death at a building site at 600 West 42nd Street. The victim was identified as Anthony Esposito, 48; authorities say he was wearing a safety harness but it was not attached to anything.

fall but it looks like scaffolding rigging fell. CityRoom says the site is owned by WTC developer Larry Silverstein. The incident occurred at his $700 million Silver Towers project, two 60-story towers at West 42nd Street.

Yesterday, a construction worker died after being thrown from a small crane on Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. A truck had crashed into it, and witnesses say there were "no warning cones around it, and the boom started swinging back and forth." Two workers who had been wearing safety harnesses survived, the worker who died was reportedly not wearing a hardhat. The truck's driver was not issued a summons, as the police believe the driver "simply lost control," while the Buildings Department issued a stop work order at the site for other violations.

A construction worker at an East 67th Street condominium construction site fell to his death this morning. The worker had been installing windows at the 23rd floor, and he fell onto a 14th floor balcony.

Investigators suspect that a nylon strap may have started a horrifying chain reaction of events that caused a crane to collapse onto other buildings. Yesterday, emergency workers found the bodies of three missing people, construction workers Santino Gallone and Clifford Canzona, and Florida resident Odin Torres who was in town visiting a friend, raising the total dead to seven. Dozens more were injured in the accident which span East 51st Street between First and Second Avenues to East 50th Street between First and Second.

Rescue crews have recovered the bodies of three people missing since Saturday's fatal crane collapse from a construction site at 303 East 51st Street onto other buildings on East 51st and East 50th Streets. These three victims were two construction workers and one woman who had been visiting a friend for St. Patrick's Day. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had told reporters yesterday, “We’re still calling it a search operation, though with each passing hour, things are getting more grim."

At an East New York construction site, a neighboring building's wall partially collapsed, killing one of the workers yesterday morning. The construction site was for a commercial building at 791 Glenmore Avenue, the neighboring building was a residence at 795 Glenmore.

Today's high winds may be to blame for a construction worker's death in Fort Greene. Around 10AM, the FDNY tells WNBC that a "construction worker had been working on the 13th floor when are large gust of wind picked up the scaffold he was standing on and blew him over the edge and on to a setback at street level."