Wednesday, January 30, 2008

DOB wind advisory

For Immediate Release
January 30, 2008

*** INCLEMENT WEATHER ADVISORY ***

BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT ADVISES PROPERTY OWNERS, BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS TO TAKE PRECAUTIONARY STEPS IN PREPARATION OF SUSTAINED AND GUSTS OF HIGH WINDS

The National Weather Service forecasts high wind between 20 to 30 mph and wind gusts up to 50 mph for the New York City area from 9am this morning through 5pm this afternoon. In preparation for the windy weather, the Buildings Department is reminding all builders, contractors, developers and property owners to secure their construction sites and buildings.

Property owners must consider the safety of their buildings and construction sites, cranes, suspended and supported scaffolding, and any other building appurtenances that may come loose from exposure to high winds. Structures that have been subject to deferred maintenance or in delicate condition could be at greater risk.

To secure construction sites, builders, contractors and developers should take all precautionary measures including but not limited to the following:

Tie down and secure material and loose debris at construction sites.
Cover electrical equipment from exposure to the weather.
Store loose tools, oil cans and extra fuses in a tool box.
Secure netting and scaffolding.
Suspend crane operations and secure crane equipment.
Secure exterior construction elevators.
Brace and secure construction fences.
Call 911 if there is an emergency on a construction site.
To secure a building, property owners should take all precautionary measures including but not limited to the following:

Bring inside loose, lightweight objects such as lawn furniture, potted plants, garbage cans, garden tools and toys.
Anchor objects that would be unsafe inside, such as gas grills or propane tanks.
Close up and secure patio umbrellas.
Secure retractable awnings.
Remove aerial antennas and satellite television dishes.
New Yorkers are encouraged to call 3-1-1 to report non-compliant conditions or 9-1-1 to report emergencies at construction sites or buildings. New Yorkers who suspect a building or property has been structurally compromised should call 9-1-1.

Contact: Kate Lindquist/Caroline Sullivan, Buildings Department (212) 566-3473

Too little, too late for these guys: One worker dead, one seriously injured in Brooklyn scaffold collapse

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the result of 2 press releases from Peter Vallone's office yesterday blowing hot air.

Anonymous said...

It's B.P. Marshal breaking her usual wind !

Anonymous said...

hopefully some of the scaffolding and whatnot surrounding crappy buildings in the making will get blown away, along with a developer or two.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it'll blow Huang's Mazeau St. house down.

Now that'd be an ill wind that blew some good !

Anonymous said...

So sad...I usually go up 15 -30 stories high on a suspended scaffold to do exterior bldg. inspections for many buildings in the Bronx and/or Queens. I won't go up in inclement weather. I always have my safety harness on. So I ask, were they provided with safety harnesses/hardhats? If so, where were they? So sad...

Anonymous said...

The wind advisory was distributed by a Safety Company known as "Total Safety". Total Safety is employed by many major construction managers and contractors throughout the metro area.
On many construction sites that you may venture onto today I can almost guarantee that you would be impressed at how many safety precautions are taken, and they should be. It always has been and still is a dangerous job and of course no matter how large and professional the construction manager may be there are always some sites where safety is ignored.
The majority of those that ignore safety procedures are the small companies (the kind that are destroying your neigborhood and putting up multi-family crap) and specifc contractors : for example a construction manager may be building a highrise and has many sub-contractors working on the site but for some reason the concrete laborers refuse to adhere to any safety guidelines.
The point is, please dont neccasarily paint the construction industry with broad strokes, remember - many of those union workers live in working and middle class neigborhoods like Maspeth, College Point, Whitestone etc. and are your neighbors and have been for decades.

Anonymous said...

The wind knocked out
some our neighborhood's power yesterday
at about 1:18 PM.

When I called Con Ed they informed me
that power was expected to be restored
at about 9:00 PM in the evening.

Unsatisfied with that time frame
I decided to call the Public Service Commission
which wound up being a total waste.

I then phoned Senator Padavan's office to
give them an update on the situation.

I received a return call from them 10 minutes later.

My power was restored
at about an hour and a half afterwards.

Thank you Frank and your efficient staff .
I don't know what you did but
you are the real powerhouse here !

P.S.
20 minutes after the restoration
of my electrical service
an automated phone message came from Con Ed.
They were working on our problem
and we'd have fully restored power by 10:30 PM !

How's that for one hand doesn't know
what the other one's doing
at our "favorite" electrical supplier ?

I guess that their work crews are confused
working with all our over development
caused power grid problems.