Construction Worker Injured At Kips Bay Building Site

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Construction Worker Injured At Kips Bay Building Site
04/29/2008 10:46 AM
By: NY1 News

A construction worker was seriously injured this morning at a building site in Manhattan on day two of Construction Safety Week.

This morning's incident happened at the site of a new 15-story building being erected at 450 East 29th Street, near the FDR Drive.

The Fire Department says the 25-year-old man suffered head injuries after falling 25 feet just before 9:00 a.m. According to Acting Building Commissioner Robert LiMandri, the man was connecting steel I-beams to the structure when he fell. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in serious condition.

"He was completely out," said a fellow worker. "He didn't look like he was breathing too good, either. Hopefully he's alright."

The worker was employed by Falcon Steel Erector, a subcontractor working for Turner Construction Company. Construction on the building, which will be an extension for Bellevue Hospital, began on February 27th.

DOB issues a partial Stop Work Order for steel operations at the site and two violations to Turner Construction. The violations are failing to safeguard the public and property during construction and failure to provide guardrails around a neighboring excavation site.

The agency says initial reports indicate that the worker was wearing a safety harness and was following all required protocol.

LiMandri said incidents like this cannot keep on happening.

"Frankly development cannot be at the expense of workers," he said. "Every worker has the right to go home to his family in the evening. What we're going to do is we're going to get to the bottom of it. In this case, we will hold those accountable if they were not following the rules."

This is the second construction accident in two days. Yesterday, a 48-year-old man was struck by a bulldozer while working at a construction site near the intersection of Clove Road and Howard Avenue on Staten Island.

The man was directing the bulldozer as it backed up at about 9:30 last night. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Police say it appears to have been an accident.

These incidents come as the city amps up construction worker training for the fourth annual Construction Safety Week.

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Buildings kicked off the week with a training session on Staten Island yesterday. The initiative focuses on informing workers of their rights to safety equipment.

The city last week launched a $4-million project to improve worker training and increase inspections of excavations, concrete operations, and crane sites.

Also yesterday, work at construction sites came to a halt, as thousands of hardhats filled St. Patrick's Cathedral for a memorial service honoring the 13 people killed in construction accidents this year.