DOB ANNOUNCES NEW CONSTRUCTION SAFETY LEGISLATION & SWEEPING CONSTRUCTION CODE REVISIONS

Proposed Legislation Will Help to Further Reduce Construction-Related Injuries and Advance Safety Regulations

NEW YORK—Today, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) announced five new construction safety bills and comprehensive updates to NYC’s Construction Codes introduced by the New York City Council. The newly introduced code revisions and safety requirements work in tandem to better protect the public and construction workers on the job.

“Life-changing injury or worse should not be the price of an honest day’s work. We are joining our colleagues in the Council to introduce bills that will help protect our fellow New Yorkers on construction sites citywide,” said Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca. “At the same time, by working with industry experts and stakeholders, our updated codes will make our built environment safer for everyone living and working in our great city. These critical pieces of legislation will help us continue building a safer and fairer New York City for all.”

Construction Safety Legislation
Construction safety efforts spearheaded by DOB, including the implementation of a first-of-its-kind construction safety training requirement, led to a 34% decrease in injuries on building construction sites in New York City from 2018 to 2020. These new bills would help further reduce injuries on construction sites by licensing general contractors who perform construction work, requiring more site safety supervision at larger work sites that present the greatest safety risk, strengthening requirements for cold-formed steel construction, and permanently banning the dangerous use of stand-off brackets for suspended scaffold work.

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