An analysis of Department of Buildings data shows that an average of one passerby per month is injured in a New York City construction accident.
The investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which focused on passerby injuries rather than injuries to both construction workers and passersby, found that between 2008 and 2014, there were 96 construction accidents involving passersby, resulting in 155 injuries.
More than three-quarters of the accidents were in Manhattan.
“People should feel safe when they are walking on sidewalks, and they should not have to be looking up for random objects from above,” said Gale Brewer, borough president of Manhattan.
Last year, there were 18 construction accidents involving passersby, the most of any year since 2008, when the city began recording details of accidents. The incidents resulted in 22 injuries.
Construction safety has been getting increased attention in the wake of Tina Nguyen’s death. Nguyen was killed by a piece of plywood that flew off of Rudin Management’s Greenwich Lane project in the West Village.
The city’s statistics do not include incidents of materials falling from a building when no one happened to be injured. In less than one year, Extell Development’s One57 has had three such incidents. [WSJ] — Tess Hofmann