Overhaul Is Sought in Monitoring Of High-Rise Construction Sites

City officials are calling for an overhaul in how high-rise construction sites are monitored after a fatal accident at the Trump SoHo building this week.

Manhattan's president, Scott Stringer, yesterday proposed that the city create an interagency task force to make surprise visits to construction sites.

A series of violations was discovered at the Trump SoHo after the accident, several of which mirrored problems the general contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, was cited for at the former Deutsche Bank building before a fatal fire there last summer.

A connection to the Trump SoHo building's standpipe was blocked and fire extinguishers and escapes were not available near a machine operating with an open flame on the top floors of the building, The New York Sun reported yesterday.

"The way we're doing this kind of inspection in these megabuildings is not working," Mr. Stringer said.

Bovis Lend Lease and its subcontractor had collected 11 previous violations before a fatal accident killed a construction worker this week and led to the discovery of the fire violations. Mr. Stringer suggested that the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement take on new responsibilities, or that another unit be created that would take preemptive steps to prevent construction accidents.

Responding to Mr. Stringer's proposal, a spokesman for the mayor, Jason Post, said the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement "is focused solely on quality-of-life conditions, and is not designed to handle the tremendous workload that the Department of Buildings handles so professionally."

City officials noted that a separate inspection unit for pre-emptive monitoring has already been formed under a Special Enforcement Plan announced by the mayor in July, just one month before the Deutsche Bank fire.

Under that plan, inspectors have conducted more than 1,000 surprise visits at construction sites.

Additionally, 67 more inspectors are due to be hired by March to beef up the effort.

The inspectors have also been compiling a list of repeat offenders that will be handed over to the city's Department of Investigations.

The team has created cases against 60 unidentified construction contractors so far.

Another local official, Council Member Tony Avella, has said a new safety unit is not enough. He has suggested that the Department of Buildings's mission be rewritten.

"If any construction company has consistently shown themselves to break the building code, the city should be able to say to them: 'That's it, you're done, find another kind of work,'" Mr. Avella said.