City Officials Demand Better Safety At Construction Sites Following Worker's Death

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- City officials are calling for improved safety measures at construction sites after a worker fell to his death in Manhattan this week.

As WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported, standing at the construction site at 46th Street and Eighth Avenue where the worker fell to his death down an elevator shaft, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said "Here was a grim responsibility to demand safety in and around New York City's construction sites."

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Brewer said the city already this year has surpassed the eight construction deaths in all of the previous year.

City Councilman Jumaane Williams said the deaths should not be in vain.

"There's no huge funerals. The construction goes on, but these people, we have to care about," he said.

Williams said too often the victims are Latinos and immigrants without the strongest voice to speak out against unsafe conditions.

On Monday, the City Council will hold an oversight hearing to try to get some answers, Smith reported.

The Department of Buildings says it takes aggressive enforcement action against unsafe construction professionals. It says development is at an all-time high, and with that comes more accidents