Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.
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Preventing construction accidents in New York City

construction NYCBuilding in New York can be challenging and safety is not only about keeping construction workers safe but also about keeping New Yorkers safe, including the neighbourghs and the pedestrians to the future tenants. Every year the NYC Department of Buildings organizes a week long seminar during which construction professionals and experts present the last trend in regards to safe building and safe living.

The 2020 “Build Safe/Live Safe” is kicking off tomorrow  in a digital only format due to Covid-19 restrictions in regards to gathering of big groups in indoor spaces.

The Department of Buildings prepared a one week program during which participants can attend webinars presented by experts on topics ranging from industry trends and safe construction operations to legal developments in sustainability, and more.

Tomorrow at 10:00 am, attendees will have the possibility to attend a 2-hour-course on “Accessibility in Residential Buildings” which will cover the requirements  for newly constructed residential buildings governed by the 2014 New York City Building Code. Then at 1:00 pm an hour course will discuss “Storefront Accessibility”. At 2:30 pm another seminar will address the “Evaluation of adjacent buildings and how to keep neighbourghs safe” during construction. The day will end with a presentation of “DOB Now and Services Update”.

The following day, participants will be able to get an update on the “Commercial Provisions of the 2020 NYC Energy Conservation Code” at 9:00 am or at 3:00 pm. Then at 11:30 am another course will cover the “Updates to NYC Sustainable Building Law” . At 1:30 pm participants will be able to learn about “NYC TR8 Inspections and Reporting”. During the last presentation at 4:30 pm , the DOB will present its new “Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge” seeking ideas to increase energy efficiency among buildings, which are the City’s #1 source of greenhouse gas emission.

September 23rd will start at 10:00 am with a course on “Risk Mitigation for Cranes” which are a cause of numerous construction accidents in New York City.  At 11:30 am, participants will learn about “Tenant Protection” which is unfortunately not always respected in this city.  The day will continue with a course on “Construction Safety and Review of the Code” at 1:00 pm followed by a  presentation on “Demo Safety” and common errors occurring during demo. Demo is one of the most dangerous activities in the construction process. The day will end with the first part of a course on  “Worker Safety”.

On September 24th, the seminar will address “Retaining Walls and Parking Structures”  as well a “Monitoring of Elevator Door Lock” . Then in the afternoon a presentation at 1:00 pm will look at incidents over the last 15 years and what are the lessons learned from these incidents. Then at 3:00 pm, participants will be informed on the recent changes to the “Façade Inspection Safety Program”. These changes occurred after several facades collapsed in the city over the summer. The day will end with the second part of the  “Worker Safety” course.

During the last day of the program, participants will be able to attend a presentation on recent “Safety Trends” in New York City. The Seminar will end with a presentation of another challenge: “Help Hack the Building Code” , an Innovation Challenge  seeking ideas from the public on improving worker safety and building design, construction, and regulation.

You can still register here