On June 30, 2016, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office released a Report on the Department of Buildings’ issuance of licenses to site safety professionals. There are two types of site safety professional licenses: site safety manager and site safety coordinator. City law requires that a site safety manager be onsite to oversee all work of any project to demolish or construct buildings 15 stories or more in height, and a site safety coordinator … <Read More>
Search Results for: Construction Safety
Crane Safety Working Group Releases Recommendations
Recommendations include increased accountability, updated technology, wind requirements, and training reform. On June 10, 2016, the Crane Safety Technical Working Group released a report with 23 recommendations regarding crane safety. The working group was formed by Mayor de Blasio and Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler following February’s crane collapse in Tribeca, which affected New York Law School.
Mayor Bill de Blasio Announces New Crane Safety Plan, Effective Immediately
New plan subjects crane operators to additional safety regulations and increased fines for non-compliance. On February 7, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a four-prong safety plan to be taken by large crane operators. The new set of safety measures arose in response to a fatal crane collapse incident, which occurred on February 5, 2016 in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan.
Variance Granted for Construction of Brooklyn School for Medically Frail Children
On July 28, 2015, the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant a zoning variance to the applicant, Akerman Senterfitt LLP, for the construction of the Brooklyn School for Medically Frail Children in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The construction would yield a pre-kindergarten school at 570 East 21st Street with dormitory facilities for physically-handicapped children who require breathing ventilation and general respiratory care throughout at least part of the school day. The … <Read More>
Reconstruction of 19th century Fire Lookout Tower Approved
Because individual landmark will be accessible to the public, railings and other safety features will be incorporated into reconstructed tower, as well a stainless steel structural elements. On July 14, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved an application to reconstruct the Watch Tower in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, an individual City landmark. The four-story octagonal tower, built around 1855, originally served as a fire lookout tower for Northern Manhattan. It is the only … <Read More>
City Comptroller Audit Finds DOB Failed To Fully Implement Crane Safety Report
In four years, Buildings has enacted eight of sixty-five safety recommendations after spending $5.8 million on a study. On November 7, 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit finding the Department of Buildings has failed to act upon recommendations for crane safety that came from a report they commissioned, four years after the report was issued.