The Ghosts of 525 Clinton

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.

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Comments

i work on broadway in soho and you'd be SHOCKED how many window washers do not put their harnass on. sometimes me and my co-workers are on edge just watching them! also some scaffolding went up on the building across from us recently and they too were wearing no harnasses and walking on little beams of wood! scary! they must have nuts of steel for real.

-rob

Posted by: PitbullNYC at November 19, 2008 9:40 AM

BTW Asshats 525 Clinton is going retail. I want you to know that. I wodner if they have defaulted yet? Oh well...

ROTW uses the same language as the unscrupulous "block-buster" real-estate agents who operated so effectively in NYC during the "white flight" days of the 60's. They peddled fear, and bought homes on the cheap from those who fled. He fails to understand that this is a different era. He may be trying to do the same thing, as there are runmours that he is a real estate agent. Pay no attention to him.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at November 19, 2008 9:43 AM

rental, you mean.

Posted by: brownstoner at November 19, 2008 9:52 AM

"rental, you mean"

Yep Brownie. Don't type before you have coffee...

The What

Someday this war is gonna end..

Posted by: Return of The What at November 19, 2008 9:56 AM

What concerns me the most is that the poor Mexican family who lost their bread-winner and did not get compensated a bit either by the sub-contractor or the contractor. It is heartbreaking to listen to the details of the ordeal the family is going through after they lost their loved one. And yet, after paying a pittance of a fine (even with fines they are supposed to gross over 40 million after the completion of construction), no one was forced or felt any moral obligation to help the family...

The brownstoner community should try and change that. Those bastards need to pay up. And people should boycott that building...

Posted by: shalman at November 19, 2008 10:02 AM

"Those bastards need to pay up."

At what, $1200 in ECB violations for a worker's death? Not going to happen sadly, and even in the "spirit" (pun intended" of paying the ECB to make things right by the city, i bet the developer skates free since DOB has no teeth in collecting fines, nor the ECB for that matter.

shalam, even if there was a reparation sent to the family, no cost would be high enough to equate this with any another angle on the "cost of doing business."

Shameful and shameless of the Mayor for continuing to do NOTHING, including working with the state and city council to create legislature making it a criminal offense if the GC or developer is found liable.

Posted by: Action Jackson at November 19, 2008 11:13 AM

labor law actually provides options for the family, provided they have consulted with the family.

Usually, compensation for falls is strict liability.

PS I dont know this area of law very well so what I say should be verified by someone more knowledgable than me.

Posted by: slick at November 19, 2008 3:26 PM