Contractor fined following worker injury

General contractor fined $25,000 for its failure to safeguard job site for construction workers. An employee of a sheet metal subcontractor was injured when he fell approximately 16 feet through a gap between the edge of a sidewalk shed and the face of a building located at 540 West 53rd Street in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. Buildings cited GC Mega Contracting Group for its failure to safeguard “all persons and property” by not closing the … <Read More>


Cracked windowsill summons voided

City issued summons for hazardous cracked windowsill on sixth floor of building. On March 26, 2019, a Department of Buildings officer observed a cracked exterior windowsill on the sixth floor of a building owned by Aspen Companies on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. The officer testified that if water were to enter the crack and freeze, a piece of the windowsill would break off, fall six stories, and injure a pedestrian below. Buildings issued Aspen … <Read More>


Emergency Order Upheld

Department of Buildings placed commercial building in program that forces the owner to immediately fix code violations. Rada Corporation is the owner of a commercial building located on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn. In May 2016, the New York City Department of Buildings issued a violation against the property, noting brick and cracked mortar joints. Buildings determined that due to the severity of the violations, an immediate emergency declaration was warranted. After the owner of the … <Read More>


Crane License Rejection Upheld

Buildings refused to grant class A crane license after applicant failed to demonstrate that he possessed three years of experience under the direct supervision of a licensed machine operator. Leo Boccia applied to the Department of Buildings for a class A license to operate a hoisting machine. Boccia’s application included affidavits that showed he had been supervised from January 2011 to December 2014 by a class A license holder while completing class C2 set-ups. The … <Read More>


Contractor’s Licenses Revoked

During the demolition of a Staten Island building an employee was killed when the floor collapsed. Dana Ford, a car dealership in Staten Island, New York, contracted with Formica Construction, Inc. to build a new facility at 266 West Service Road, Staten Island, and demolish Dana Ford’s old facility. Buildings approved the construction plan, but Formica never obtained the necessary permit to commence the demolition. On the morning of November 28, 2014, four Formica … <Read More>


Public Health: Tobacco, Sugars, Trans Fats and Salt

In the twentieth century, primary causes of death and disability in America changed from communicable diseases to chronic diseases. This shift was in part due to the successes of public health as better sanitary conditions and immunizations reduced the burden of communicable diseases.  The shift, however, was also due to changes in lifestyle and longer life expectancies that caused the rates of chronic diseases to increase.