New York CIty Council Member Ben Kallos

New York Daily News City Council passes construction safety bill forcing contractors to track, list deaths, injuries at building sites by Erin Durkin

City Council passes construction safety bill forcing contractors to track, list deaths, injuries at building sites

The city will have to track and publish a full list of deaths and injuries at construction sites under a bill passed by the City Council Tuesday.

“We’ll be able to see who’s getting hurt, where and why so that we as a city can make construction safer. We must count every life,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), the bill’s sponsor.

Contractors will have to report details including the type of injury, how long the worker has been on the job, and whether they were unionized. Construction companies that fail to report deaths face fines up to $25,000.

Mayor de Blasio is expected to sign the legislation.

Under another bill passed Tuesday, construction sites for buildings under ten stories will have to hire construction superintendents who will be charged with keeping the site safe.

The six bills voted on Tuesday left out the most controversial parts of the sweeping construction safety package the Council has been considered. Unions and construction firms have clashed over a proposed requirement for workers to go through apprenticeship programs.

Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said that proposal is still under negotiation.

“We look to pass the rest of the package soon, and we’ve been having very good conversations on the other bills,” she said.

Bills also passed Tuesday to require cranes to have GPS trackers and event data recorders, and require additional licensing for operators of large cranes.

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