On Tuesday, a Construction Safety Week visit to the Atlantic Yards site

From the Department of Buildings:

Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri today announced the launch of the 7th Annual Construction Safety Week, a week-long series of events aimed at raising awareness about safe construction practices throughout the City. To kickoff this year’s events, the Department hosted a four-hour safety conference – Build Safe / Live Safe: An Inside Look at the Latest Construction Trends in New York City – at New York University in Manhattan today with more than 250 construction industry professionals to discuss new ways to improve construction operations, as well as specific trends identified in recent construction-related accidents. The Department also launched a new safety campaign, entitled “Experience Is Not Enough,” to encourage all construction workers to use proper fall protection, such as guardrails, harnesses and nets, while working on a job site.

Tomorrow is an Atlantic Yards visit:

On Tuesday, Department inspectors will visit the Atlantic Yards construction site in downtown Brooklyn, one of the largest ongoing construction projects in the City, and distribute posters, banners and bracelets to workers as part of the new safety campaign. Since 2008, 16 workers have lost their lives due to a lack of proper fall protection, including two fatal accidents earlier this year. In February, two workers, ages 49 and 51, were killed when they fell about 65 feet while installing a steel beam at a job site on West 83rd St. in Manhattan. Inspectors determined safety harnesses were on site at the time of the accident, but they were not being used.

Note that, despite the somewhat awkward phrasing, no workers have lost their lives at the Atlantic Yards site.

Media Advisory: 10 a.m. event

Below, the Media Advisory sent today to the press (which I received secondhand). The event is a media event--open to the press, not the public:

On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, the Department of Buildings will lead a behind-the-scenes walk-through of the Atlantic Yards construction site in Downtown Brooklyn at 10:00 a.m. The Department will highlight safety measures at this location, distribute educational materials and discuss safety precautions for similar work throughout the City.

The new “Experience is not Enough” vehicle – which is part of a citywide safety campaign to encourage construction workers to use proper fall protection – will be stationed at the site, and officials will be distributing posters, banners and bracelets to stress the importance of taking safety precautions during construction operations.

This construction site visit is part of the 7th Annual Construction Safety Week, a week-long series of events aimed at raising awareness about safe construction practices throughout the City.

Construction Safety Week Media Advisory - Atlantic Yards