As NYC Builds Taller, High-Rise Construction Accidents on Rise

NEW YORK (AP) -- Building tall is getting more dangerous in New York.

This week's death of a worker who fell 40 stories off a Donald Trump
tower and a spate of recent accidents at other high-rise construction
sites have exposed failings like faulty cranes, tight schedules and an
ineffective inspection process, industry observers say.

The number of accidents last year at high-rise sites --
buildings 15 stories or higher -- more than doubled, causing five
deaths, up from one in 2006, city Buildings Department records show.

And as more and more tall buildings go up in New York, straining the
industry's work force and increasing public pressure to finish quickly,
the risks are growing, experts say.

"It's not a question of if people are going to get hurt, it's a
question of when,'' said Joel Shufro, executive director of the New
York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a workers' rights
group.

The five deaths last year include two city firefighters killed while
a toxic skyscraper was being dismantled across from the World Trade
Center site. Fifty-two people were injured on high-rise sites last
year, up from 32 a year earlier, city records show.

The latest accident on Monday killed Yuriy Vanchytsky, 53, who fell
off the Trump SoHo hotel-condominium complex after framework holding up
freshly poured concrete collapsed. City officials were investigating
whether the crane on the job had swung and hit the tower before the
accident; neighbors had complained previously that the crane had
slammed into nearby buildings before. They were also considering
whether too much concrete was poured at once.

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