Personal Injury Attorneys - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and the Bronx

Quick Response (QR) codes provide smartphone users who have downloaded a free application with immediate access to data by scanning the displayed code with their device. Similar to how a barcode provides information through a scanner, scanning the QR code of any construction permit willallow the user to learn details about the ongoing project including the approved scope of work, identities of the property owner and job applicant, other approved projects associated with the permit, the complaints and violations related to the location and user will have the ability to click a link that will initiate a phone call to 311 to make a complaint. The New York City Department of Buildings announced that QR codes will be placed on all permits it issues. New York is the first major city in the nation to use QR codes on permits. All permits are expected to have QR codes by roughly 2013.

On January 11th, 2011, the New York City Buildings Department announced that there was a 28% decrease in construction-related accidents in New York City in 2010 when compared to the previous year. In 2010, there were 157 reported construction-related accidents compared to 218 in 2009. There were four fatal construction-related accidents in 2010, a 78% decrease when compared to 2008. The total number of reported construction-related injuries also dropped from 241 injuries in 2009 to 165 in 2010, a 31% decrease. All four of the fatal construction-related accidents in 2010 - two in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan - involved workers who fell due to a Tagged with: Construction Accidents Building Code Violation Construction Accident Personal Injury Lawyer Accident Attorney

Earlier this year the New York City Department of Buildings had a No-Penalty Retaining Wall Inspection Program, in which homeownerscould call 311 to request an inspection of their retaining wall without the penalty of violations. Retaining walls are important because they are designed to hold back soil that would move to a more natural slope or incline if the wall was not in place. Were that to occur, damage could be sustained not only to the building's foundation, but to the foundation of an adjacent property. Additionally, there is a potential for injury or even death where construction work is being done below street level of the adjacent property and a retaining wall collapses.Similarly, when major excavation causes damage to adjacent structures, Administrative Code of the City of New York 27-1031(b)(1) (now Administrative Code 28-3309.4) imposes liability on an owner and contractor for s

Every homeowner is required by law to maintain their decks and their properties in a safe condition at all times. To prevent accidents from occurring, on June 21, 2010 the New York City Buildings Department launched the No-Penalty Deck and Porch Inspection Program, an initiative to help property owners throughout the City ensure their decks and porches are structurally sound and in compliance with City regulations. Under the program, there is no risk or violation for the initial visit by the Department. In the event that repairs are needed, or unsafe conditions that do not present an imminent danger are found, inspectors will defer issuing violations to allow property owners sufficient time to take corrective action. The program ends on August 1, 2010. The No-Penalty Deck and Porch Inspection Program is timed to coincide with the summer months when these structures will be used more frequently. Aging and seasonal changes in weather are significant factors that can make t

Retaining walls are designed to hold back soil that would move to a more natural slope or incline if the wall was not in place. Every homeowner is required by law to maintain their walls and their properties in a safe condition at all times. Under the No-Penalty Retaining Wall Inspection Program, homeowners may call 311 to request an inspection of their retaining wall without the penalty of violations. Every once in a while you heara story in the news about a retaining wall that collapsed on a worker engaged in a construction project on an adjoining property where the worker is injured ordies. This years program may be more important than in other years because this years unprecedented rainfall could compromise the stability of retailing walls. As temper

The New York City Buildings Departments Construction Safety Week has, since 2005, been a week-long series of events aimed at raising awareness about safe construction practices. Construction-related fatalities dropped 84% in 2009 when compared to 2008, and these events are a critical way to continue that trend. This year Construction Safety Week will run from April 26 to April 30, 2010. Events during the week will include construction site visits to discuss safety issues with workers, information seminars to review construction trends and specific operations and community meetings in all five boroughs. This years seminars are Maintaining Safety at Stalled Construction Sites, Requirements for Site Safety Professionals and Special Inspections, Safe Practices at High Rise Construction Sites, Building in a Dense Urban Environment, and Safety and Sustainability in the Building Code & Zoning

On March 12, 2008, the basement foundation wall of a two-story wood-frame residential building located at 795 Glenmore Avenue in Brooklyn collapsed into the construction site on the adjoining parcel at 793 and 791 Glenmore Avenue, causing the death of a construction worker who was working in the excavation site at the time of the collapse. The laborers were digging out the soil for the foundations and underpinnings when the wall collapsed. The owner of both the building and the construction site, William Lattarulo, stands charged with manslaughter in the second degree and reckless endangerment in the second degree. The defendant's Dunaway /Huntley/Mapp motions to suppress statements, five oral and one audiotaped, that he made before his arrest and the physical evidence recovered in his garage and home was denied after an evidentiary hearing was held at the Supreme Court, Kings Cou

The N.Y.C. Department of Buildings has suspended the license of Master Electrician Robert Spallinos and fined him $100,000 after determining he installed cheap, illegal wooden parts, instead of the metal, insulated collars required by the Electrical Code, inside the electrical systems of five high-rise hotels in midtown Manhattan. It wasn't an accident - Spallino even painted his wooden "carvings" black in a bid to fool inspectors into thinking they were made of fireproof metal, according to Department of Buildings documents. He used homemade wooden collars to rig wires together -- a potentially deadly fire hazard. The city building code requires that wires pass through a fireproof conduit made of metal collars between floors. The actions taken against Spallino were led by the Departments Special Enforcement Team, a unit of attorneys, plan examiners, inspectors and support staff that identifies professionals, building owners and contractors who blatantly disregard

Homeowners have until June 1, 2009 to call 3-1-1 to request an inspection of their retaining walls by a Buildings Inspector without penalty of violation under the New York City Department of Buildings' annual No-Penalty Retaining Wall Inspection Program. Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri launched this years program on March 25, 2009. During the inspection, Building Inspectors will conduct visual examinations of retaining walls and record structural conditions such as bulging, displaced material, or leaning of the wall. If repair is needed or violating conditions that are not immediately unsafe are found on walls, the Buildings Department will defer issuing violations until June 1, 2009 to allow property owners time to take corrective action. If immediately-dangerous conditions are found upon inspection, the Buildings Department will take immediate action to force correction of the unsafe condition. Retaining walls are designed to hold back soil that would move