Speaker Quinn: Conditions At 7 Train Extension Site Would Have Violated City Safety Rules

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called for increased city oversight on state-run construction projects at a press conference today outside the 7 train extension site, where Tuesday night's crane collapse killed one worker and severely injured another. Quinn and other city lawmakers want state agencies like the MTA, which currently oversees construction at the West Side site, to fully adhere to city safety regulations on construction projects within in NYC. As it happens, the DOB was supposed to inspect the crane in January, but that safety inspection was postponed and rescheduled for... tomorrow. More on that below.

Safety regulations on construction sites overseen by the city are much stricter than those set by the state, as standards were revamped following a series of tragic crane accidents on the Upper East Side and in midtown in 2008. Construction sites under the city's jurisdiction must submit engineer's reports before using potentially dangerous machinery like cranes, outlining how and where the machinery will be used and secured, as well as how it will be maintained and inspected. The city also requires that construction projects allow officials on site to inspect and monitor conditions regularly. Quinn noted that the 7 train extension site was not required to submit engineer's reports and did not give city officials constant access for inspection.

"In fact, City officials who were invited onto the site after the incident found conditions that would have qualified as violations," she said. "Making these sites meet the safety standards that every private and City construction site has will make these jobs safer for workers who are trying to get home every night, and the public. As last night shows, lives are at stake."

In addition to work at the 7 train site—which has halted indefinitely following last night's accident—two additional major construction projects in the city, the Nets Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn and the much-beleagured 2nd Avenue subway line, are run by state agencies, and therefore also currently not subject to city safety standards.

In response to Quinn's statements, the MTA sent out this statement:

The MTA shares City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s concern for the safety of MTA construction sites. As a state public authority, the MTA already is subject to state building codes. The MTA is examining the Speaker’s proposal to put all MTA construction activity under the inspection authority of the New York City Department of Buildings.

Crane contractors working on MTA construction projects are required to obtain annual operating certificates from the NYC Department of Buildings, and to post their current inspection certifications on the crane. The site of yesterday’s incident is city-owned property, which also gives the NYC Department of Buildings jurisdiction to inspect cranes there...

On July 14, 2011, the NYC Department of Buildings performed an annual inspection of the crane. Its written report indicated “No Deficiencies” at the top of the first page, and finished with the conclusion “No deficiencies found on crane at time of inspection.”

But here's the really jaw-dropping part of the MTA's statement: "On January 10, 2012, the NYC Department of Buildings attempted to inspect the crane. This was done to change the month of the annual inspection cycle from July to February. The inspection report again indicated “No Deficiencies” at the top of the first page. However, because the crane was in operation during the inspection, a three-month extension was issued by the NYC Department of Buildings. The notation at the end of the form reads, “crane cannot be laid down to inspect boom section, safetys only checked, ok to issue 3 month extenstion” (sic). The NYC Department of Buildings informed the MTA that the follow-up inspection was scheduled to be completed tomorrow, April 5, 2012."