Manhattan’s Community Board 2 is calling on the city to take greater precautions to prevent construction accidents in order to minimize tragedies like last week’s death at the Greenwich Lane site.
The board introduced a resolution that would require the city to track safety on construction sites, similar to the Vision Zero initiative that aims to reduce traffic-related deaths, according to DNAinfo. The resolution was introduced by the board’s chair, Tobi Bergman, who knew the victim of the Greenwich Lane accident personally. The board passed the resolution unanimously.
Tram-Thuy Nguyen, a 37-year-old Keller Williams broker, was killed by a piece of plywood while passing by Rudin Management’s Greenwich Lane project last Tuesday.
“There are indeed freak accidents in the world that may be unavoidable,” said Bergman. “But construction deaths and pedestrian deaths in the street, whether they come from cars or buildings, should not happen.”
While Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office did not directly address the resolution, a spokesperson pointed to steps that the Department of Buildings is already taking to improve safety, including hiring 20 new inspectors and pushing to retire old cranes. [DNAinfo] — Tess Hofmann