Thousands of building construction projects are underway in New York on any given day.
asserted
Thousands → give → day
The deadly collapse of a building next to one of those work sites has raised questions about the city’s oversight and the safety precautions taken by contractors.
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collapse → raise → contractors
While the investigation is ongoing, some New York officials on Friday called for the hiring of more inspectors by the city’s Department of Buildings.
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officials → call → Buildings
The probe, meanwhile, is likely to focus not only on the building that fell but on an adjacent excavation site and its contractors, who had faced previous lawsuits and complaints.
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who → focus → lawsuits
Eight people were killed Wednesday when the three-story structure containing residential and commercial units in Brooklyn collapsed.
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structure → kill → Brooklyn
It fell into a pit dug by workers excavating the site of another building that was recently demolished.
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that → fall → building
Neighbors had reported feeling vibrations from the construction site, and at least one witness saw bricks falling from the building just moments before it collapsed.
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it → report → building
Officials cite a shortage of building inspectors
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Officials → cite → inspectors
Though it remains unclear how often the excavation site had been inspected, some city officials said Friday
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officials → remain → ?
that more help is needed
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help → need → ?
The Department of Buildings has a vacancy rate of around 9% — 168 of its 1,855 authorized positions — according to the city’s comptroller dashboard.
uncertain
Department → have → dashboard
“We must, and we will, ensure that every single one of those positions is immediately filled,” said New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a Democrat.
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Menin → ensure → positions
“This is an unspeakable, horrendous tragedy, and we must meet this moment.”
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we → meet → moment
Democratic City Council Member Farah Louis called for aggressive oversight.
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Louis → call → oversight
“Grief without accountability is not enough,” Louis said.
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Louis → say → accountability
“Buildings do not simply collapse without systemic failures.”
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Buildings → collapse → failures
The city has ordered inspections at more than 160 sites in New York that are associated with six entities linked to the construction and demolition site where the building collapsed, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
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Mamdani → order → site
It’s also bringing in an engineering consulting firm to provide an independent report, which Mamdani described as “standard practice for this kind of a tragic incident.”
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Mamdani → bring → incident
New York lays out rules for excavation projects
All contractors doing excavation work must notify New York’s Department of Buildings 24 to 48 hours in advance, according to guidelines posted on the department’s website.
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contractors → lay → website
A contractor on this site provided notice Sept. 9 that work would begin the following day and include rock blasting.
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work → provide → blasting
Permits are required for most work, which must also meet submitted plans.
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which → require → plans
All projects are required to have proper precautions, such as shoring, bracing and “regularly checking walls for cracks,” the city’s website says.
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website → require → cracks
If any of the work violates any rule, regulation or law, the city’s building commissioner may issue a stop work order.
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commissioner → violate → order
The Buildings Department may also conduct random audits of excavation projects to inspect shoring, groundwater, excavation depth and other things that could affect safety.
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that → conduct → safety
“Department site monitoring does not relieve engineers and contractors of their professional responsibilities,” the city’s website says.
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website → relieve → responsibilities
Contractor has faced previous lawsuits and concerns
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Contractor → face → lawsuits
Contractors involved in the demolition and excavation of the property next to the collapsed building had faced previous complaints and alleged violations.
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Contractors → collapse → complaints
In March, the city issued a stop work order after inspectors concluded the building was being demolished without adequate overhead protection.
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building → issue → protection
In April, inspectors found that the demolition work had resumed in violation of that order, the department said, but work was allowed to continue after the problems were corrected.
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problems → find → order
The general contractor, Townhouse Builders Inc., which also operates as Promont, was accused in a lawsuit of causing extensive damage to an adjacent building during renovation work in Manhattan in 2016.
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which → operate → 2016
Townhouse denied the allegations in court papers, and the suit appears to have been settled out of court.
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suit → deny → court
Townhouse was also accused in a lawsuit of damaging and compromising the structural integrity of adjacent buildings while performing excavation, pile driving and steel beam installation for a six-story hotel project in Brooklyn in 2016.
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Townhouse → accuse → 2016
The damage included a breached wall, shifting, settlement and cracking, according to the lawsuit, which accused Townhouse of failing to perform a physical inspection prior to excavation and failing to properly support the property’s walls.
uncertain
which → include → walls
Townhouse’s lawyers reached agreements four times to delay their deadline to submit a written answer to the claims but never did.
uncertain
lawyers → reach → claims
Nothing has been posted to the docket since 2022.
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Nothing → post → 2022
The owner of Townhouse did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
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owner → respond → Press
Excavation can raise
risks for nearby buildings
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Excavation → raise → buildings
The investigation into Wednesday’s building collapse should look into whether the designs that were submitted were adequate and, if they were, whether the contractor doing the work made a mistake, said Abi Aghayere, a professor of civil engineering at Drexel University who studies structural systems and why they fail.
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they → look → systems
“With an old building like this, the room for error is very, very, very, very slim,” Aghayere said.
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Aghayere → say → error
There are four main possible causes for failure in a project that involves excavating adjacent to an existing building, he said.
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he → be → building
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
