The city failed to make a host of safety changes it was supposed to implement after two deadly crane collapses, a scathing audit by the city controller’s office found.
The Department of Buildings shelled out $5.8 million to private consultants for a report that made 65 recommendations and to help implement the changes after the two 2008 accidents in Manhattan that killed a total of nine people.
Yet more than four years after the report was issued, only eight of the 65 recommendations had been fully put into place, the audit by Controller Scott Stringer found.
“When those cranes collapsed, so too did public confidence in how those construction sites were managed. The lack of a strong government commitment to fix this problem is inexcusable,” Stringer said.
Of the 65 recommendations, 17 were partially implemented and 18 were in progress, the audit found. But the biggest chunk, 22 or 34%, went nowhere.
The Buildings Department hired CTL Engineers & Construction Technology Consultants to prepare the safety report after the two high-profile catastrophes and after city stats showed construction accidents had soared by nearly 50% over two years.
In March 2008, a 300-foot crane collapsed on E. 51st St., killing seven people. Two months later, a collapse on E. 91st St. killed two hardhats.
The company was paid $3.9 million for the study and given another $1.9 million contract to help implement the recommendations. Buildings officials said at the time they would implement 49 of the 65 changes within two years, according to the audit.
But they fell far short of that, Stringer’s investigators found.
Among the changes that weren’t put into place: requiring a technical adviser on a construction site during the assembly, climbing, and dismantling of a tower crane; requiring site safety personnel to report to the owner of a project instead of a contractor to avoid conflicts of interest, and mandating inspections of hoisting systems holding more than a ton.
“These catastrophes should have been a wakeup call, but instead the Department of Buildings seemingly lost interest — and its sense of urgency faded,” Stringer said.
Department of Buildings officials disputed several of the findings and told investigators they had fully implemented 30 of the recommendations and partially implemented or were in progress on another 23. They also said that the consultants performed all the work they were paid for.
“The Department of Buildings shares with the controller’s office an utmost interest to ensure the agency is in compliance with current laws,” said spokesman Alex Schnell. “We believe there are some discrepancies between the controller’s reported findings and our internal review of implementation efforts associated with recommendations provided in the . . . study.”
