Gwen Everett
Crain’s New York Business
03.27.20
The construction industry is no longer an essential workforce in New York amid the Covid-19 crisis, the government said Friday.
Empire State Development Corp. update guidance to halt non-essential construction, writing that infrastructure, hospital, and transit construction, as well as emergency construction, may continue. Those essential sites remaining open must maintain social distancing standards or be forced to close, and will face fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
It puts a temporary halt to what the New York Building Congress called in its most recent construction outlook the “most robust building boom of the 21st century” in the city. Last year saw the highest-ever levels of investment and employment in the industry, the builders’ group said. It had projected $189.5 billion in construction spending between 2019 and 2021.
Until Friday, construction had been an industry that continued as normal amid New York on Pause. Pressure for that to change built up in recent weeks amid concerns about the health risks that could pose to workers on sites. Governor Andrew Cuomo was asked in his Thursday press briefing about the issue and agreed the policy seemed incongruous and agreed to address it.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/construction-property/non-essential-construction-halts-across-state?utm_source=breaking-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200327&utm_content=hero-headline
