Too Close for Comfort: NYC Construction Excavation Damages Day Care Center
(Courtesy of The New York Times) The Lower East Side excavation site and the day care center next to it that was damaged by construction work.
I'd like to offer a heartfelt thanks to a contractor called Central Construction Management of Queens. This company has been doing excavation work at 265 East Houston Street in New York's Lower East Side, where the owners of that property plan to erect a new eight story residential building. The excavation work was occurring right next to an old four story building which houses a day care center for 2-6 year olds- and can accommodate 80 children.
Recently, when the day care center was closed, workers at the site were drilling holes to put in foundation supports (pilings), and alarms went off telling them that there was a problem at the neighboring building. Luckily, the contractor did the right thing and immediately notified the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB). Upon later inspection, it turns out that while doing the drilling, the contractor had accidentally "compromised the structural integrity" of the building housing the day care center, according to the Department of Buildings.
The good news is that no one was hurt. The DOB put a stop work order into effect at the excavation site, and the day care center has been closed and will not reopen until the structural problems at its building are fixed. In this case, credit is due to the contractor for contacting the DOB immediately upon realizing they may have caused damage to the neighboring building.
Doing excavation and/or demolition work next to a old building is a daunting task, which needs to be closely monitored by the DOB. This general contractor stepped up and informed the DOB that they may have damaged the neighboring building- potentially averting a horrible tragedy in which innocent children could have been hurt or worse. Unfortunately, not all general contractors have the same integrity as Central Construction Management of Long Island City.
It is not enough to leave the safety of the general public, our workers, and in this case our children- in the hands of construction contractors. The DOB has to step up it's construction accident prevention efforts on projects to prevent potential tragedies. Construction accident lawyers like me can only provide monetary compensation for injuries our clients would have much preferred never having. Most New York City building contractors treat construction accident lawsuits and workers' compensation claims as simply the cost of doing business, which is a sad commentary on the entire construction industry.
More needs to be done by the NYC Department of Buildings to prevent construction site accidents, and soon, because next time New York's children may not be so lucky.
