By Carol Tannenhauser
A memorial has been set up in front of 263 West End Avenue at W. 72nd Street, where a construction worker fell to his death on Monday morning.
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) issued a Full Stop Work Order at the site, after a preliminary investigation revealed that the worker had not received the required site-safety orientation before plummeting from “the 15th-floor level to the sidewalk shed, while installing netting around a supported scaffold,” said Ryan J. Degan, deputy press secretary of DOB. “Additional enforcement actions are pending an ongoing investigation.”
The worker who died was employed by the scaffolding company Rennon Construction Corporation, according to DOB. The general contractor at the work site is J & S Waterproofing. We are attempting to reach them for comment.
(Thanks to Jill Goldstein for the tip.)
That’s very sad. This company performs dangerous activities and doesn’t provide proper training to their employees?
Looks like Rennon might be a fly by night outfit that works out of a house in Nassau county so probably minimum required insurance at best. Can someone be held criminally liable?
Just as a sidenote, this local law 10 has gotten out of hand. I travel a bit and never see such a ridiculous amount of scaffolding around so many buildings anywhere else. This has resulted in the proliferation of scaffolding (and “waterproofing”) companies – some high quality and many others just out trying to submit the lowest possible bid.
And the frequency —every five years—is unnecessary. It is a huge expense and inconvenience to all. Aas seen in this death of a worker the scaffold process has its own dangers that number more than the occasional though horrific injuries and deaths caused by a loose, falling brick. But that rare death of a child or pedestrian that our elected officials are mindful of. In monitoring the law. As for the remaining families of laborers or injured survivors sent to high floors without training or proper equipmentespecially if they are non-Union). They can hope there’s adequate insurance, workers Compensation eligibility , or a civil trial with smart NY jurors determining the value of a life or devastating injury .
Will his employer and the contracting company be paying for his funeral and helping his family during this sad time? Will Rennon also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser so UWS neighbors might help? If so, please publish links in the West Side Rag. Thanks so much.
Poor guy. Did he have a family? They should sue because he “had not received the required site-safety orientation before plummeting from the 15th floor level…”. What was the matter with the people who run these things? This man was not “disposable”!!!
This is extremely sad.
Thank you, WSR, for trying to reach the construction company.
Adding my thanks to the Rag for their reporting on this. You are likely the only news outlet that will followup on this story.
I’d like to read a more in-depth study of Local Law 11: how many deaths (from falling bricks) in the four decades leading up to its passage and how many deaths (construction workers) in the roughly four decades since its passage.
The real villain here is Local Law 11 which puts thousands of workers in danger performing work of marginal value. Reform the law and there would be fewer injuries, less blight from sidewalk sheds, and millions of dollars saved. For example, facade inspections can be done by observations from the ground, without the need for scaffolding and riggings that put workers in danger. Facade inspections can be once ever 10 years, not 5. And full replacements of the brick work can happen for only the most egregious unsafe facades.