Crain’s New York Business
Eddie Small, 9.4.20
Covid-19 safety violations at New York City construction sites have not been especially prevalent so far, according to data from the Department of Buildings.
The city agency began issuing enforcement actions at sites July 8, one month after work on nonessential construction projects was allowed to resume with safety guidelines in place as part of the city’s first reopening phase. Between then and Sept. 2, the DOB issued stop-work orders at 330 of the city’s roughly 40,000 active construction sites due to Covid-related problems.
The department issued 550 violations at 531 sites overall, as some sites were found to have multiple problems. It has conducted more than 82,000 inspections.
“We remain committed to keeping our fellow New Yorkers safe and are heartened that the vast majority of construction sites in our city have implemented our strong new health regulations,” DOB spokesman Andrew Rudansky said in a statement.
There were 213 violations at Brooklyn projects, 167 in Manhattan, 124 in Queens, 42 in the Bronx and four on Staten Island.
The DOB issued its highest number of violations on the first day of inspections—July 8—doling out 30 of them. It issued 29 on July 9 and has not topped that number since then, coming closest on Aug. 17, with 26 violations. The DOB, which did not issue any violations Aug. 4 or 10, has issued an average of about 13 per day since starting inspections.
The vast majority of sites had just one violation. There were four, however, Sept. 2 at 169 Hudson St., a luxury residential property in Tribeca also known as The Roebling Building.
Workers were doing a large interior renovation project on the second floor there and did not have a designated safety monitor, a Covid-19 communication plan, a cleaning and contract-tracing log or proper signage on the elevators, the DOB said.
Employers and contractors may be fined up to $5,000 if caught violating Covid-19 safety protocols.
Lou Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers’ Association, said he was happy with the overall violation numbers, describing them as “reflective of the seriousness that both the industry and DOB have toward compliance with the Covid-19 protocols.”
Carlo Scissura, president of the New York Building Congress, similarly touted the industry’s compliance rate, as did Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council.
“Health and safety compliance at construction sites across the city has been extraordinary,” LaBarbera said.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/dob-has-issued-550-covid-violations-jobsites-july
