Builders in the city may face new restraints on construction that requires the use of explosives. A proposed City Council bill would tighten regulations on blasting permits and shorten the duration that contractors would be allowed to blast from three years to three months.

The legislation was drafted after the collapse of a retaining wall on an Upper West Side apartment building near the intersection of West 97th Street and Columbus Avenue. The collapse occurred a few hours after a series of blasts at an adjacent construction site.

The blasting bill would add several requirements:

– A representative from the Department of Buildings or Fire Department would be required to attend blasts at private construction sites.

– All blasting would have to be done by people who have earned a special certificate from the Fire Department.

– Blasting permits would require approval from the Fire Department and other agencies, including the Department of Buildings or the Department of Transportation.

– Notices would have to be posted in a neighborhood at last a few days before blasting.

Speaker Christine Quinn said that after the retaining wall collapsed, she and other council members began reviewing the city’s laws related to the use of explosives on construction sites.

“The truth is, they’re not very good,” she said. “The truth is they really leave it up to luck.”