City to call for stiffer safety rules 

After a spike in accidents at high-rise construction sites last year, New York City Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster will call for tougher safety rules before a City Council committee today. Fatalities on projects at least 15 stories high increased to five last year from one in 2006, and injuries increased 63 percent, to 52. Lancaster is proposing laws that would require registration for “contractors for all types of construction work.” The city will require site safety managers for projects of 10 or more stories or 150 feet in height, instead of the current requirement of at least 15 floors or 200 feet.