For Immediate Release: May 5, 2025
CONTACT: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov, (212) 393-2126

DOB CELEBRATES CONSTRUCTION SAFETY WEEK BY SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT ON EFFECTIVE WORKSITE-SAFETY INITIATIVES

Thanks to safety-focused policies and diligent enforcement, construction-related fatalities and injuries are at decade lows

New York, NY – As Construction Safety Week (May 5–9) kicks off across the country today, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is helping to spread the word about building construction work-site safety and recognizing the significant progress made over the past year in improving safety conditions across the five boroughs. As highlighted in the department’s 2024 Construction Safety Report, construction-related injuries have dropped to levels not seen in a decade, an achievement that underscores the work the industry has done to prioritize safety on their work sites, and the success of the administration’s ongoing initiatives to make job sites safer than ever before. So far in 2025, the city has seen a 43% decline in building construction-related injuries compared to the same period of time in 2024. Throughout Construction Safety Week, department personnel will be fanning out across the city to take part in safety awareness events and speak directly with construction professionals about ways that we can continue this tread of safer work sites. The department will also be reaching out to construction licensees and registrants citywide, and sharing critical safety messages on social media, to spread the word about best practices for staying safe on the job.

"We are seeing encouraging numbers related to building construction work site injuries so far in 2025, but that doesn’t mean that we are going to be resting on our laurels," said Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo. "The data shows that mandating safety training for workers, strict oversight procedures on building projects, and consistent educational outreach has a profound impact on the safety of not only workers, but members of the public as well.  We need to double down on these initiatives, so that we can continue to drive down these injury numbers across the city.”

“Ensuring worker safety is not an option – It’s a responsibility we all share. The annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is a critical opportunity for employers and workers to pause, talk about fall hazards, and reinforce safe practices on the job,” said Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York. “Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction, and most of these tragedies are preventable. Taking time to educate and engage workers through events like a stand-down help save lives, prevent injuries, and build a stronger safety culture across the industry.”

Construction Safety Week coincides with OSHA’s National Safety Stand Down events held across the country, where construction projects pause activities to hold site-wide safety demonstrations and fall prevention seminars. Throughout Construction Safety Week, members of the Department of Buildings will join our partners at OSHA on construction sites across the city that are holding these Stand-Down Events, talking directly to workers about the dire consequences of cutting corners on the work site. In addition, we will spreading the word about the city’s robust construction safety requirements, designed to prevent incidents from occurring.

There are over 1 million buildings and around 40,000 active construction sites in New York City. DOB has worked in recent years to increase its footprint throughout the city, logging a total of 416,290 of field inspections at buildings and construction sites in Fiscal Year 2024, the most inspections since DOB started tracking that statistic. However, since DOB inspectors cannot be on location at all sites around the clock to enforce the city’s construction safety regulations, it is imperative that construction contractors and site safety professionals provide appropriate oversight for their own projects. Improvements in construction injury data can be attributed in large part due to increased compliance on worksites from construction professionals, in addition to the city’s initiatives geared toward fostering a stronger culture of safety.

Safety-related initiatives at DOB that are helping to improve safety:

Worker Training Identification Cards:  In 2024, the department saw continued widespread adoption of our Site Safety Training (SST) program, a nation-leading construction safety training initiative that requires workers on the city’s largest construction sites to obtain at least 40 hours of approved safety training. By the end of 2024, DOB-approved training providers issued over 430,000 active SST cards, each representing a worker who has successfully completed lifesaving training and the data shows has coincided with significant reductions in work site injuries and fatalities.

Worker Wallet Cards For Specialized Equipment: Building on the success of the SST cards, in November 2024 DOB introduced the “Worker Wallet” a scannable identification card for professionals who work with specialized equipment, such as scaffolds, rigging, mast climbers, and gas piping. These cards help insure that only those who have the proper certifications and received appropriate training are using this equipment on the jobs site. The department is currently looking into expanding the “Worker Wallet” to include additional training programs and certifications.

New Proactive Enforcement Strategy: DOB has created a new proactive enforcement unit within the agency focused on inspecting buildings that have been allowed to fall into disrepair by negligent owners and bad actors within the construction industry. Thanks to a new law passed by the City Council last year, and a significant investment of $4.7 million from Mayor Eric Adams, DOB is currently staffing up this new unit, which will utilize predictive analytics to identify derelict buildings and unsafe contractors, in order to take appropriate interventions in the interest of public safety before a major collapse occurs. This new unit will be operational, going on offense against bad actors, later this year.

New Licensing requirements for Hoisting Machines: In 2024, the agency enacted major changes to oversight of the crane and hoisting industries, creating a new license class for smaller hoist machine such as boom trucks, mini cranes, and telehandlers. Previously these relatively smaller lifting devices could be legally operated by anyone, regardless of their experience using them. Now any hoisting device rated for 2,000 pounds or more must be operated by a department-licensed professional, who has received the appropriate training.

Enhanced Oversight Requirements for Construction Superintendents: In 2024, DOB implemented changes reducing the number of active jobs that a Construction Superintendent can oversee at the same time from 10 to just three. With fewer jobs to oversee, these professionals can now spend more time at each site, to better catch unsafe conditions, and ensure that all safeguards are in place to protect workers and the public. DOB will further reduce the number of jobs a construction superintendent can oversee at a time to just one starting in 2027.

Utilizing Technology on the work site: DOB implemented new rules for building construction sites, allowing contractors to keep on-site construction documentation (such as inspection logs and meeting records) in a digital format on a laptop or tablet device, for ease of use and storage. This recent change followed a successful pilot program which found that construction contractors and site safety professionals were able to more quickly track and organize their required safety checklists and records when they are in a digital format.

Outreach: DOB sees educational outreach as a year-round imperative, holding construction safety outreach events and conducting meetings with industry groups to help promote a culture of safety on building construction sites. This regular collaboration with the industry has long been a key strategy to improve safety outcomes in the overall construction industry.