New York City shuts down 322 construction sites for safety violations

The New York City Department of Buildings has issued stop-work orders at 322 construction sites in the city since June 1 as part of its “zero tolerance” safety inspection sweeps.

The department inspected more than 2,000 of the city’s larger building construction sites and issued more than 1,100 violations for safety issues and code-noncompliance at the worksites.

The inspection initiative is intended to continue the reductions in construction-related injuries on city building sites beginning in 2019 — the first decrease in nearly a decade. In 2020, the city reported 502 such injuries, down from 595 in 2019 and 761 in 2018.

A spokesman for the department said the safety sweeps are ongoing.