THE CITY
Gov.
Andrew Cuomo will freeze most construction statewide in response to the
pandemic virus sweeping New York, after outcry from workers and word of
COVID-19 cases on job sites around the city.
On
Friday the governor will decree most residential and commercial
building temporarily off limits, according to a spokesperson for Cuomo’s
office. Infrastructure and transportation projects will be allowed to
continue, as well as emergency repairs, hospital building and work on
affordable housing.
Until
now, construction work has been classified as essential, exempt from a
state “pause” that ordered the shutdown of a wide swath of workplaces.
Cuomo’s shift followed a rush of protest from construction workers and their family members.
Significant numbers had begun refusing to show up for work, sources
said. Word traveled on Facebook among workers about positive cases on
job sites and an electrician’s death.
Stephen
Jozef, 57, who had been working on Google’s offices at 111 8th Ave.,
died from the coronavirus Monday, his daughter said. The electrician was
last on the site on March 6, leaving because he grew ill.
“We
understand the need for essential electrical work but there are many
jobs that aren’t,” his three daughters, Valerie, Amanda and Rachel
Jozef, said in a statement.
Construction worker Stephen Jozef died on March 23 from the coronavirus.
Photo: Courtesy of the Jozef Family
The carpenters’ union local released a statement Thursday asking elected officials to limit jobs to “truly essential” construction. “Our members’ lives are at stake,” it said.
Cuomo’s
move came as some construction sites around the city temporarily closed
for cleaning after workers tested positive for COVID-19 — including
prized Cuomo public works projects at Moynihan Station and LaGuardia
Airport. Both projects will continue under the new guidance.
Some
in the industry feared that their coworkers have not yet fully
appreciated the threat of the virus as work was allowed to continue.
“They’re being led to believe it’s no big deal,” one steamfitter said.
