Monday, February 13, 2012

Construction Workers Injured at Two Sites in Two Days

Worker Injured at East Village Construction Site
A worker at an East Village construction site fell 15 feet Friday afternoon after the scaffolding he was standing on collapsed.The worker was standing on scaffolding near the roof inside of 710 East Ninth Street, a boarded-up former school building near Avenue C, when the structure collapsed at around 2:50 p.m., sending him plummeting to a stairwell landing below.
 

Because construction is being done inside the building, firefighters removed the employee through a window on the top floor using a ladder, and then lowered the injured worker from the exterior of the building to an ambulance. 

The worker suffered serious injuries to his head and was taken to Bellevue Hospital.  A hospital spokesperson reported that the injured man was "conscious, and in extreme pain."

The cause of the scaffolding collapse was not immediately clear, and officials from the Department of Buildings and the FDNY are investigating. The injured worker was not wearing a safety harness.

The former Henry Street Settlement Day Care building is being converted to affordable housing, according workers from Clairmont Electrical Contracting
of Brooklyn, who are working at the jobsite. Contractors are adding one floor with nearly 4,000 square feet to the four-story building, which will have 45 units when the renovation is complete.
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Construction Worker Injured at Midtown Jobsite
A construction worker sustained injuries from a fall on a jobsite at 57th Street and Third Avenue Monday morning. The worker fell 20 feet from a scaffold at 201 East 57th Street about 9:20 a.m., according to officials from the FDNY.

Investigators from the Department of Buildings, who were on the scene, believe the injured worker was wearing a harness, but that it was not hooked in. A worker who witnessed the accident stated that the man fell head first, and was dangling by his feet, swinging back and forth below the scaffold, but not bleeding. 
 
The construction worker was transported to the hospital awake and conscious, where he was treated for a dislocated shoulder. Fortunately, the injuries did not appear to be life threatening. 

Construction of 201 East 57th Street began in August and is expected to take around 14 months to complete, according to the project's general contractor, Sciame. Unity Electric is performing electrical work at the site.  

The building, a four-story, glass box will be named the Manufacturers & Builders (M&B) Building, according to developer Marx Realty.