Ben Kallos, Re-Elect to New York City Council in 2017 - Community

FOX 5 WNYW Legislation seeks to make NYC a bit quieter by Fox News

Feed — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 06:42:16 +0000

FOX 5 WNYW

Legislation seeks to make NYC a bit quieter

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/legislation-seeks-to-make-nyc-a-bit-quieter

Fox News

12/20/2017

Coming to the rescue is Council Member Ben Kallos, whose bill has just been passed. The bill seeks to turn down the volume during the off hours that construction sites aren't taking off, whether it be on the Upper East Side or across the East River in Queens or back across to Manhattan's West Side where construction seems never-ending.

Issue:

Affordable Housing

Community

Environment

AM New York Council Expected to Pass Measure Limiting After-Hours Construction Noise by Sarina Trangle

Feed — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 23:32:18 +0000

AM New York

Council Expected to Pass Measure Limiting After-Hours Construction Noise

https://www.amny.com/news/after-hours-construction-noise-law-1.15510338

Sarina Trangle

12/18/2017

A bill empowering the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to quell after-hours construction noise was voted out of a Council committee Monday. Councilman Ben Kallos, who sponsored the measure, expected his colleagues to approve the measure at a scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

“New Yorkers hate getting woken up early or kept up late at night with construction,” Kallos said, noting that noise concerns are the most common complaint logged in the city’s 3-1-1 system. “[The DEP] actually agreed and worked with us on this legislation that makes a huge update to the city’s noise code.”

Kallos noted that the legislation will task the DEP with crafting rules specifying how long inspectors have to respond to complaints about after-hours work and which grievances ought to be prioritized because the noises are expected to continue. A DEP spokesman said the rulemaking process typically takes six months to one year.

The city’s humming construction industry may be in for a demur remix.

A department spokesman indicated that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration supports the measure.

If passed, new construction projects would need to abide by a lower sound limit when working after hours — before 7 a.m. or after 6 p.m. — during the business week and anytime on weekends. Crews are currently not permitted to make noise above 85 decibels within 200 feet of a residence, but that limit would drop to 80 decibels next year, and 75 decibels in 2020, Kallos said.

The councilman estimated this would halve the allowable volume of construction din. According to the National Institutes of Health, sustained, repeated exposure to sounds “at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss.” A normal conversation has a decibel level around 60 decibels.

Additionally, the measure would make it easier for DEP inspectors to examine noise complaints by no longer forcing them to schedule appointments inside the homes of those who complain. Instead, inspectors could measure the decibel level on the street and issue violations and stop-work orders on specific pieces of equipment, if appropriate.

“[The DEP] had to make an appointment with the person to come in their home to take a measurement with the doors and windows closed,” Kallos said. “Now if DEP finds a violation, it will be over and done with.”

Denise Richardson, executive director of the General Contractors Association of New York, said the construction contractors’ group appreciated the city’s efforts to balance community noise concerns while still allowing for after-hours construction.

But the real estate industry’s chief lobbying group, The Real Estate Board of New York, worried that the new sound limits were overly restrictive, noting that they forbid noise levels comparable to those caused by a passing diesel truck.

REBNY argued the new limits may deter after-hours construction work enough to slow the pace of construction for community priorities such as affordable housing developments

Issue:

Community

Brooklyn Daily Eagle NYC: Success of ‘City-Wide’ Bike-Share Program Not Wide Enough by Mary Frost

Feed — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 23:32:18 +0000

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

NYC: Success of ‘City-Wide’ Bike-Share Program Not Wide Enough

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/12/18/nyc-success-city-wide-citi-bike...

Mary Frost

12/18/2017

Officials, including Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the Council Committee on Transportation, and Councilmember Ben Kallos, said the move was all about equity for the outer boroughs.

"We have spent years working to get bike sharing in all five boroughs and although we have made a lot of progress some areas don't have it,” Kallos said in a statement.

The Citi Bike program has been hugely popular in neighborhoods where it operates, with riders taking roughly 14 million trips in 2016. Citi Bike’s gray docking stations are a familiar sight across Manhattan and in a limited number of brownstone neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. But many parts of Brooklyn — about four-fifths of the borough — are not covered.

Now, the city wants to experiment with bringing a new type of bike sharing program to the rest of the city — one that doesn’t require docks. On Friday, the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for next-generation dockless public bike-share systems in the outer boroughs.

Dockless bikes can be found and unlocked using a smartphone app, and are inoperable when not in use. The bikes don’t need to be locked to a dock, bike rack or any other fixed object when parked.

“Citi Bike has been an unparalleled success story in providing New Yorkers affordable, safe and green transportation, but as we are learning from around the U.S. and the world, the next generation of bike share in New York City may not even require that the bikes themselves be parked in docks,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a release.

There are a number of companies competing in the dockless bike market, including LimeBike, Spin and Chinese companies Ofo and Mobike.

Trottenberg said the companies are “anxious to prove their skills in serving our city’s diverse, demanding and lucrative market.” RFEI would allow the city to create different pilots and evaluate what works best.

Dockless systems have lower capital and operating costs than Citi Bike’s model, according to DOT, and could help bring bike-share service to outer borough neighborhoods at a faster rate than is possible under the current model for Citi Bike expansion.

The city will continue to support Citi Bike, Mayor Bill de Blasio assured in the release, but it will “prioritize new systems that complement existing service.” The incoming program would only operate in places outside of the current Citi Bike service area — similar to the way green taxis operate outside of Manhattan — so as to not undermine Citi Bike.

The city gave no indication, however, how the various systems would work together to allow riders to travel wherever they needed to go.

In other American cities with dockless systems, trips are often priced at $1 per 30-minute ride, the city says.

Officials, including Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the Council Committee on Transportation, and Councilmember Ben Kallos, said the move was all about equity for the outer boroughs.

"We have spent years working to get bike sharing in all five boroughs and although we have made a lot of progress some areas don't have it,” Kallos said in a statement.

Challenges ahead

According to engineering firm Alta, which launched Citi Bike, there are a number of challenges to overcome with dockless bike systems. Operators must rebalance bikes to meet demand, and cities must manage “a clutter of bicycles on sidewalks already under pressure from competing uses.”

The wide, scattered areas of operations also pose problems for bicycle maintenance, economic sustainability and lack of visibility. Misplacement of dockless bikes can be “a real issue,” Alta said on its website. Several operators, like oBike and LimeBike, have solved the problem by giving credit points for returning to bikes to a designated parking location.

Bike-share programs have been successful in numerous cities, including Vancouver, Portland and San Francisco. In January, however, City Lab published an analysis of the failure in Seattle of dockless bikes operated by a company named Pronto! (initially operated by Motivate, which runs the Citi Bike program).

According to the analysis, problems leading to the system’s downfall included low ridership, delayed expansion, lack of funding and politics.

New York City is asking vendors pitching their services to explain how they will overcome the city's various challenges. These include explaining how the bikes will not obstruct other street and sidewalk uses, how to keep bicycles within a designated service area, how to rebalance and how to keep the rides affordable.

Citi Bike has had more than 53.5 million trips since its launch in 2013. More than 60,000 Citi Bike trips are taken per day during peak season. Annual Citi Bike subscriptions stand at over 130,000.

Issue:

Community

Wall Street Journal New York City Landlords Soon Could Be Required to Post Energy Ratings by Josh Barbanel

Feed — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 23:32:17 +0000

Wall Street Journal

New York City Landlords Soon Could Be Required to Post Energy Ratings

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-landlords-soon-could-be-required-to-p...

Josh Barbanel

12/18/2017

Large buildings across New York will have to post letter grades in their lobbies disclosing their energy efficiency, if a measure before the City Council passes.

The new rating system is modeled after the ubiquitous grades for sanitation posted in restaurant windows across New York.

The proposal is part of a package of quality-of-life measures due to be taken up by the City Council on Tuesday, at its final scheduled meeting of the year.

A second measure is designed to limit noisy after-hours construction that has led to complaints in residential neighborhoods, especially on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The report card bill was approved by the council’s environmental protection committee on Monday. It requires both commercial and residential buildings with more than 50,000 square feet to post a notice near each building entrance.

The notice would include the posting of a federal energy efficiency rating already required under existing law, and a simplified letter grade from A-D (or F for some buildings that fail to file) beginning in 2020.

Council member Daniel Garodnick of Manhattan, the lead sponsor of the bill, said he expected it to pass the council easily. He said it would allow commercial tenants and residential renters and owners to pressure building owners for improvements.

“We think that a market-driven approach here will help encourage more efficient buildings,” said Mr. Garodnick, whose tenure on the council ends this month because of term limits. “We think it will foster a higher level of engagement.”

Large buildings across New York will have to post letter grades in their lobbies disclosing their energy efficiency, if a measure before the City Council passes.

The new rating system is modeled after the ubiquitous grades for sanitation posted in restaurant windows across New York.

The proposal is part of a package of quality-of-life measures due to be taken up by the City Council on Tuesday, at its final scheduled meeting of the year.

A second measure is designed to limit noisy after-hours construction that has led to complaints in residential neighborhoods, especially on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Issue:

Community

New York Times New York Today: A Holiday Market for El Barrio by Derek Norman

Feed — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 23:32:16 +0000

New York Times

New York Today: A Holiday Market for El Barrio

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/nyregion/new-york-today-a-holiday-market-for-...

Derek Norman

Alexandra S. Levine

12/19/2017

And if you’ve ever had the displeasure of being woken up by the shrill whine of a drill or other construction equipment, some good news: The City Council is expected to pass legislation today to keep things quieter.

“Our new law will turn down the volume on after-hours construction noise in residential neighborhoods,” said Councilman Ben Kallos, who wrote the bill with the support of the Department of Environmental Protection and who has made the dimming of noise one of his top priorities.

New York is the city that never shuts up.

The legislation requires that the city address construction-related noise complaints as they are happening, instead of days or weeks later. Inspectors will be equipped with technology to measure noise levels from the street, rather than from inside an apartment, and they will have the authority to issue on-the-spot stop work orders for disruptive construction that violates the new rules.

We like the sound of that.

Issue:

Community

Lowering the Volume on After Hours Construction Noise in New York City Passes Council

Feed — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 10:22:55 +0000

Community

Lowering the Volume on After Hours Construction Noise in New York City Passes Council

City to Respond to After Hours Noise Complaints When They Are Happening or Likely to Happen Again

Noise Limit Lowered for After Hours Construction in Residential Neighborhoods

New York, NY – Noise is the top complaint in New York City with booming construction surrounding residents who complain only to see their concerns go unaddressed for days or met with a small fine paid by developers as a cost of doing business. After hours noise will be targeted with new rules for responding when the noise is still happening or is likely to happen again, turning down the volume on after hours construction noise in residential neighborhoods over the next two years, and empowering the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to shut down equipment that is too loud. Introduction 1653-B was authored by Council Member Ben Kallos in collaboration with DEP who helped improve it and co-sponsored by Environmental Committee Chair Costa Constantinides, which passed that committee and is on track to pass the City Council today.

In 2016, violations went down as complaints went up, according to the New York Post. Analysis found that noise complaints peak dramatically after 8PM then falls after midnight with a second increase between 7AM and 9AM according to Pratt Professor Ben Wellington in The New Yorker.

“New York City may be the city that never sleeps but that shouldn’t be because of after hours construction noise waking you up. Our new law will turn down the volume on after hours construction noise in residential neighborhoods,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza for his agencies expertise and collaboration on this legislation, to Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and Environmental Committee Chair Costa Constantinides for their partnership and hearing this important legislation, as well as to the countless residents who have complained regularly about after hours noise that led to this legislation to keep our city a little bit quieter.”

“The nuisance that bothers New Yorkers most is loud noises, however, it could take days for agencies to respond to noise complaints. By that time, a violation would unlikely be issued. That's why we're introducing this legislation that would require the city to respond to noise complaints when they are happening, or likely to happen again. New Yorkers deserve a responsive government and noise-free neighborhoods. Thank you to my colleague Council Member Ben Kallos for leading the way on this quality-of-life issue,” said Environmental Committee Chair Costa Constantinides.

“Working with the City Council, this legislation will empower our noise inspectors with new tools to more effectively enforce the City’s Noise Code,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “By lowering the allowable after hours noise limit in residential areas, allowing inspectors to take noise readings from the street, rather than from inside an apartment, and empowering inspectors with the ability to issue a stop work order for noisy equipment, this legislation should help bring some much needed relief to New Yorkers.”

The legislation would require the following:

Responding to Noise Complaints When They Are Likely to Happen – DEP will adopt rules for responding to after hours noise complaints in order to ensure that inspections happen when the noise is likely to continue or repeat.
New After Hours Construction Noise Limits in Residential Neighborhoods - within 200 feet of a residence after hours building construction noise would be capped at 80 decibels starting next year and 75 decibels in 2020.
Measuring After Hours Residential Noise Inside or Outside – within 200 feet of a residence after hours building construction noise could not exceed 8 decibels above the ambient noise levels inside the home with windows and doors closed, which in 2020 will decrease to 7 decibels. In addition to measuring building construction noise levels inside the home, noise could now be measured outside the home at least 50 feet from the noise source and within 200 feet of the residence.
New Noise Standards for Interior Renovations – interior renovations will now be explicitly subject to new rules for noise mitigation, methods, procedures and technology.
Electronic Filing of Noise Mitigation Plans – noise mitigation and alternative noise mitigation plans would need to be filed electronically to make it easier for inspectors and the public to access online.
Review of Alternative Noise Mitigation Plans – when construction cannot be done quieter than 85 decibels the developer would be required to submit an alternative noise mitigation plan that would now be required to set a specific decibel limit for the project and would also be subject to city approval.
New Enforcement Powers to Stop Noisy After Hours Construction – whenever after hours building construction exceeds noise levels the city would have to issue an advisory or violation and could also issue a stop work order for a specific piece of equipment.
Reporting on Noise Enforcement – DEP will report annually to the Council and the public on the number of noise inspectors, number of complaints by type, the number inspected on time, how the complaint was resolved, the number of alternative mitigation plans and the number of advisories, violations and stop work orders issued.

Under the legislation noise levels for roadwork in residential communities would remain unchanged and existing construction projects would be grandfathered under existing noise mitigation or alternative noise mitigation plan.

Noise complaints received by 311 in 2016, according to Open Data were routed to one of four agencies:

New York Police Department (NYPD) – 360,780 complaints - banging or pounding (224,866), loud music or party (65,107), loud talking or television (55,385), vehicle horn or music (11,387), and engine idling (4,034).
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – 58,488 complaints - construction equipment, jack hammering, and before or after hours (36,028); barking dogs or other animals (6,924); equipment for air conditioning, ventilation, and lawn care (4,779); alarms (3,765); vehicles including cars, boats, private garbage trucks, and even ice cream trucks (3,308); and manufacturing noise (543).
Economic Development Corporation (EDC) – 1,003 complaints – helicopters.
Department of Sanitation (DSNY) – 204 Complaints – garbage collection.

AM New York City Construction Hits Record High with Midtown Leading the Charge, Data Shows by Sarina Trangle

Feed — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:02:18 +0000

AM New York

City Construction Hits Record High with Midtown Leading the Charge, Data Shows

https://www.amny.com/news/construction-nyc-record-1.14996654

Sarina Trangle

Lisa L. Colangel

11/16/2017

The area’s councilman, Ben Kallos, said he fields complaints daily about overdevelopment and is worried the city is not ready to absorb the population boom it is experiencing.

“They don’t have the school seats we need for the people living here and moving here,” he said. “The Second Avenue Subway is already surpassing ridership goals and they are adding more and more trains.”

The scaffolding does not lie.

The city issued a record 88,838 construction permits over the last six months, eclipsing the previous high set in the spring and summer of 2016, according to new Department of Buildings data.

“It’s not your imagination: construction is at a record high in New York City,” Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said in a statement.

The department published a new interactive feature Wednesday, called the NYC Construction Dashboard, which includes graphics and maps showing how many permits for new buildings, demolitions and alterations have been issued in various communities.

Chandler said this dashboard is part of the department’s larger modernization efforts, intended to help the city deploy inspectors based on which areas or contractors may be having the most issues or injuries, with several construction workers having died on the job in recent years.

Outside City Hall, the data has reaffirmed for some that their griping about noise and overdevelopment concerns is warranted.

The data shows the part of midtown below Central Park has seen the most construction activity, with 13,098 permits issued so far this year.

That came to no surprise to some locals facing an influx of supertall residential skyscrapers.

“We see there is construction on every block,” said Layla Law-Gisiko, the chair of Manhattan Community Board 5’s Landmarks Committee and the Central Park Sunshine Task Force.

Law-Gisiko was pleased to see the city sharing permitting data. She said the stats show most projects simply need to abide by current provisions to get a permit and very few require approval from the city government, which typically makes applicants come before community boards and listen to local feedback.

“There is a discrepancy between the pace of our building environment and the way it is changing and the opportunity for the public to be involved,” Law-Gisiko said.

The city issued the second highest number of permits — 6,832 — on the Upper East Side.

The area’s councilman, Ben Kallos, said he fields complaints daily about overdevelopment and is worried the city is not ready to absorb the population boom it is experiencing.

Meanwhile, the number of demolition permits was highest in Midtown East, Bushwick and Gowanus in 2016. The Department of Buildings noted that demolition work typically occurs to make room for new development and precedes further construction activity.

Discussions are underway about rezoning Bushwick and Gowanus to allow for more residential buildings.

But in Gowanus, many property owners seem to be converting spaces back to manufacturing facilities because they have grown tired of waiting to see if a rezoning will pass, according to Paul Basile, president of the Gowanus Alliance, which promotes the local industrial and manufacturing sector.

“Some of these properties were warehoused for a decade,” Basile said. “Those demolitions and alterations are now being used to reinvest in manufacturing.”

The city pointed out that all the development has led to a record 43,258 construction jobs in 2016.

But Chandler said the department is also aware of noise and other disturbances associated with construction work. He said the department does its best to suss out whether the complaints stem for construction work, rather than ambient noise, and then tries to improve the situation.

Although the Department of Buildings does not steer planning and development decisions, Chandler said his team shares this sort of data with city planners to help guide larger discussions about land use decisions.

Issue:

Community

Total Food Service Action Updates On Scaffolding And Organic Waste Separation by Andrew Rigie

Feed — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:02:17 +0000

Total Food Service

Action Updates On Scaffolding And Organic Waste Separation

https://totalfood.com/action-updates-scaffolding-organic-waste-separation/

Andrew Rigie

11/17/2017

It’s no secret that scaffolding plays an important role in protecting people from falling debris from building construction. But it’s also no secret that scaffolding that is left up for extended periods of time has a devastating impact on restaurants and bars, ranging from a significant loss of business, to the reduction of employee hours and layoffs, to being a major factor in some businesses closing.

Last year, the NYC Hospitality Alliance conducted a survey of our membership, in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services inquiring about the impact of scaffolding on their businesses. The responses demonstrated that when scaffolding is left up unnecessarily, it too often poses a significant and sometimes existential threat to our city’s restaurants and the jobs of New Yorkers.

This is why we support Council Member Ben Kallos’ effort to pass legislation that would regulate the length of time in which scaffolding may stay constructed, helping to mitigate unnecessary scaffolding that stays up for many months or in some cases years beyond its intended purpose. In addition to the current proposal, we suggest that the city establish a vehicle for which a business may file a complaint if they believe scaffolding constructed in front of their business is in violation of this law.

As we’ve said before, the wheels of government move slowly, and that’s why it’s important to have the NYC Hospitality Alliance in the halls of government advocating on behalf of our industry. But the wheels of government do move, and we’re encouraged that scaffolding reform has reached the next step in the legislative process. We will continue to advocate until scaffolding reform is implemented.

Issue:

Community

The New Yorker The Story Behind the Unjust Shutdown of Gothamist and DNAinfo by Anna Heyward

Feed — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 13:32:16 +0000

The New Yorker

The Story Behind the Unjust Shutdown of Gothamist and DNAinfo

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-story-behind-the-unjust-shutd...

Anna Heyward

11/14/2017

Since the shutdown of Gothamist and DNAinfo, there has been talk among laid-off staff members of seeking funding to start a new local-news outlet to replace what’s gone. Their experience with Ricketts, several said, has only confirmed their belief in the importance of unions in protecting the rights of workers. On a recent afternoon, former staffers held a rally at City Hall, at which politicians, union leaders, and reporters from other publications showed up in solidarity. It was a muggy, overcast day. Peterson, the Guild director, told the crowd, “We come not to mourn but to organize.” Whitford, wearing a black T-shirt and black jeans, spoke later. “Anyone out there thinking of unionizing, don’t be scared by what happened to us, because this is the worst that can happen,” she said. Later, Ben Kallos, a city-council member from the Upper East Side, told the crowd, “Head over to Broadway, see a little show called ‘Newsies.’ I don’t want to give the end away, but the workers always win.”

https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5a0b42c440284b1dd15fecf9/master/w_727...

Issue:

Community

NBC News 4 New York I-Team: Are Smoke Breaks Turning NYC Skyscraper Project Into a 'High' Rise? by Chris Glorioso

Feed — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 02:22:15 +0000

NBC News 4 New York

I-Team: Are Smoke Breaks Turning NYC Skyscraper Project Into a 'High' Rise?

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/Pot-Smoking-Construction-Workers-Upper...

Chris Glorioso

Evan Stulberger

Michael Aquilia

Erica Jorgensen

Kristina Pavlovic

10/27/2017

NYC Council Member Ben Kallos (D – Upper East Side) said it is difficult to understand how DDG safety managers could be unaware of the smoke breaks, given how blatant some laborers were about their pot smoking.

"It’s pretty hard to believe that a developer would have workers go literally across the street, smoke up, and then come back to the site and then deny that they know what is going on," Kallos said. "That’s a problem."

A New York City condominium project is being watched closely by building inspectors after an I-Team investigation revealed more than a dozen construction workers smoking what looked and smelled like marijuana – and then heading back to work alongside heavy machinery.

Over the course of three weeks, I-Team producers confirmed the scent of pot at the same time cameras captured construction workers puffing on what looked like hand-rolled marijuana joints on the Upper East Side. The smoke breaks mostly took place inside a small public park, about a two minute walk from the site of the future skyscraper, 180 East 88th Street.

Immediately after the workers smoked in the park, I-Team cameras rolled as the very same laborers walked back onto a high rise construction site.

The pattern of apparent drug use by construction workers comes to light just a week after Mayor de Blasio signed into a law a construction safety bill that did not include mandatory drug testing, despite a push from non-union contractors to require drug testing on job sites.

When the East 88th Street project is complete, the building is slated to be the tallest residential tower north of 72nd Street, with luxury condo prices currently starting at more than $3 million.

DDG, the skyscraper developer, declined to answer questions or view video of the apparent drug use by laborers working on the tower. A public relations firm hired by DDG said in a statement, "We have a zero tolerance policy and take this situation very seriously. Safety is our number one priority and we are committed to enforcing the highest standards."

But some workers on the job site did not appear to share that same zeal for safety.

The I-Team interviewed one construction worker, who declined to give his name, but openly defended smoking pot and working on a high rise construction site.

"You’re talking to somebody who smokes for a couple years," he said. "I’m not a rookie at this."

When asked about how high up he works on the condo tower, the unnamed worker paused.

"Are you asking me how high I am? Or how high up there?" he said.

Mark Peters, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Investigation, has investigated substance abuse on other construction sites. He told the I-Team it is often up to a site safety monitor, hired by the contractor, to ferret out drug use and other dangerous behavior before it threatens the public or other workers.

"If you are a construction manager or a site safety manager and you see this conduct going on and you look the other way and somebody gets hurt, you run the risk of getting arrested for that," Peters said.

He also urged New Yorkers to call DOI or the Department of Buildings if they suspect drug or alcohol consumption by construction workers.

After the I-Team alerted regulators to the apparent drug use, inspectors from the NYC Department of Buildings and OSHA visited the condo project.

"We did see several safety lapses for which we issued violations and a partial stop-work order," said Joseph Soldevere, a Buildings Department spokesman.

The city inspectors did not find workers smoking pot, but they did find a series of safety problems including poor housekeeping, missing roof protections, and improper safety netting.

When asked if those safety and housekeeping lapses could be related to impaired workers, DDG did not respond.

Issue:

Community