Stringer Proposes Construction Watch Program

Despite some cries of opposition from community activists, Columbia’s plans for Manhattanville are moving toward the first phase of development. But after a rash of tragic construction accidents in Manhattan—most recently the collapse of a high-rise crane on East 51st Street—Borough President Scott Stringer has set his sights on enhancing safety precautions around building sites.

Preliminary meetings were held last week for Stringer’s Borough Construction Watch Program, which could impact the way construction is handled in Manhattanville. The program will work through community boards and other local groups to increase communities’ watchdog capacity over the safety of construction sites.

“Just as some communities have a Neighborhood Watch program that works with the Police Department and helps residents reduce crime in their neighborhoods, we need a neighborhood construction watch to work with the Buildings Department to help monitor safety issues at the many building sites on Manhattan streets,” Stringer said in a press release.

Community Board 9 District Manager Lawrence McClean has been selected as the Board’s representative to the program, which he believes will bring increased transparency. “The big change is that there will be more eyes and ears,” McClean said.
He gave the example of permit notices and other construction signs—in the past, many builders have posted old information about contractors that they are no longer using.

“We want to teach people what to look for and how to report it, so that investigation into what’s really going on can occur,” he said, referring to the role of community members as watchdogs for construction sites.

According to CB9 Chair Pat Jones, McClean has already met with Borough Construction Watch officials. But with no concrete initiatives in place yet, Jones said that the potential of the program has yet to be seen.

“It’s too soon to tell,” she said, “but the goal ... is to get more eyes and ears in the community aware of what’s going on and reporting any potential irregularities or violations.”

University Facilities spokesman Dan Held asserted that Columbia already upholds construction safety as its top priority. “That is why Columbia University has insisted on maintaining the highest standards for safety at our work sites,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Working closely with our construction partners, we carefully evaluate every construction project to determine appropriate safety measures.”

According to Held, such measures include regular job-site safety inspections, on-going safety training, and rigorous inspections of construction-related equipment.

Still, CB1 Vice Chair Catherine McVay Hughes, who will lead the borough-wide initiative, said: “We want to increase communication and collaboration between different stakeholders. We know that real estate development is important, but we want to make it safe.”

She emphasized that the Watch is not an enforcing power in itself—its real power lies in educating the community about safe and unsafe construction practices and about how to respond to the issues that may arise.

With work in Manhattanville imminent, the Watch may come as a relief to those uneasy about the construction. Walter South, a CB9 member and outspoken critic of the University’s project, said he believes transparency to be one of the Columbia’s greatest challenges. He cited the environmental drilling tests currently taking place in the future construction zone, the results of which he says Columbia has still not agreed to release to the public despite several requests.

“Columbia really just needs to let the community know what it’s doing and how it’s doing it,” South said.

McClean expressed hope in the program’s possible results. “People do things differently when there’s a light shined on them than they do when they’re working in the dark,” he said.

zack.hoopes@columbiaspectator.com