New York City cracks down on construction site safety

This month, the New York City Department of Buildings deployed teams of enforcement inspectors to perform safety inspections at the city’s larger and more complex construction sites.

The action followed the deaths of three construction workers over a two-week period. Two of these fatal incidents resulted from worker falls. The three incidents are under investigation.

Inspectors are prepared to issue enforcement actions for any safety violations and may shut down sites for violations, according to a city press release.

The city’s Department of Buildings has introduced five new construction safety bills for consideration by the New York City Council. The bills would enhance oversight and accountability on construction sites in the city by licensing general contractors who perform construction work, requiring more site safety supervision at larger work sites, strengthening requirements for cold-formed steel construction, and permanently banning the dangerous use of stand-off brackets for suspended scaffold work.