One unfortunate byproduct of the building boom: more construction fatalities — 27 this year so far, and they've continued despite some management changes at the DOB. WNYC told the story of one of those unlucky souls yesterday. Jose Palacios, a Mexican immigrant, died when the scaffold beneath him collapsed at (former advertiser) The Collection, a luxury condo in Clinton Hill (that had been a 100-year-old brick house, home to the mentally disabled, before being razed to make way for glass and steel). He toiled on a day when the winds climbed to 30 miles an hour. Turns out faulty equipment was the culprit; they had some of the right hardware, but some was missing or just not strong enough. "They had the correct ties, and for whatever reason, they didn’t have the tool—the correct tool to install those ties," said OSHA's Richard Mendelson. Some say the company that employed him, Bell Tower, wouldn't stop the work; others say Bell Tower ordered them to cease, but the workers kept going. (Conveniently, Bell Tower president Christopher Page seems to have absconded, disconnecting his phones and taking off for Wisconsin). Part two of the story aired this morning.
The Cost of Doing Business Part I [WNYC]
The Cost of Doing Business Part II [WNYC]
Scaffold Collapse To Blame at 525 Clinton [Brownstoner]
BREAKING: Worker Killed at 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
Photo by threecee.
