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For Immediate Release: April 3, 2023
Contact: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov, (212) 393-2126

DOB RELEASES ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY REPORT

2022 Report Details Comprehensive Analysis of Construction Site Safety and Work Site Incidents, as Construction Activity Continues to Rise Citywide

New York, NY – Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik, P.E. released the agency’s annual New York City Construction Safety Report today, providing a comprehensive analysis of building construction safety trends over the 2022 calendar year. This annual report provides an overview of Department-collected data to increase transparency within the construction industry, while highlighting the importance of safety regulations in the City’s Construction Codes. The report shows increased building construction activity over the previous two years throughout the City, which unfortunately correlated with modest increases in worker incidents, injuries, and fatalities. The 2022 recap draws specific attention to 11 fatal construction worker incidents—two higher than in 2021, but three fewer than in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year—as well as work site and public safety initiatives launched by the Department.

“Keeping New Yorkers aware of the state of the construction industry in our City is a critical component of our mission to improve public safety,” said Acting Commissioner Vilenchik. “For the second year in a row, worker injuries and fatalities at building construction sites have increased. While these incidents are occurring much less frequently than in years past, we are ringing the alarm that this year’s report highlights a new trend that must be reversed.”

2022 Construction Safety Report Highlights

The annual report provides an overview of building development data, construction worker incidents, and enforcement actions, to increase transparency within the construction industry and highlight the importance of adhering to the safety regulations in the City’s Construction Codes. This 2022 report shows:

Worker injuries on building construction work sites are up for a second straight year, increasing by 9.7% compared to 2021.

554 injuries occurred in 2022, significantly lower than the 759 worker injuries that occurred in 2018 – a year when we saw a peak in injury data. The number of injured workers on building construction sites represents less than 1% of the total number of building construction workers in the City, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands, working on close to 40,000 work sites across the City.

Over 259,000 construction professionals have obtained Site Safety Training (SST) identification cards, required to work on the larger and more complex building construction sites in the City.

The year-over-year increase in worker injuries mirrors a similar 11% increase in initial citywide construction permits issued by the Department in 2022, as construction activity continues to increase throughout the City.

A significant amount of newly permitted construction jobs involved new construction, as developers worked to begin their projects before the expiration of the 421-a tax abatement program and the implementation date of the 2022 NYC Construction Codes.

There continues to be a correlation between the overall amount of citywide construction activity and the number of worksite incidents and injuries, which indicates that more construction activity brings with it the risk of more incidents.

The 2022 report illustrates while construction fatalities can happen on worksites of any size, most fatalities occurred on larger and more complex projects that are required under City regulations to meet additional site safety requirements. To acknowledge this trend at these types of construction sites, the Department conducted 55% more unannounced monitoring inspections on these larger sites in 2022 than in 2021. These proactive inspections are part of the over 300,000 construction inspections that DOB conducts annually.

The main driver of worker fatalities and injuries on building construction sites continues to be falls. Federal OSHA regulations require employers to provide fall protection equipment and maintain guardrails, hole coverings, and other fall protection measures at all times. Many of the injuries that were tracked by the Department in 2022 were due to employers disregarding these important regulations.

Building Construction-Related Incidents

Year

Incidents

Injuries

Fatalities

2018

1193

759

13

2019

960

594

14

2020

796

502

8

2021

712

505

9

2022

751

554

11

New Construction Starting in NYC

2021

2022

% +/-

Initial Construction Permits Issued

93,200

103,551

11% +

Initial New Building Permits Issued

1,683

3,746

122% +

DOB’s Proactive Monitoring Inspections of Larger and More Complex Work Sites

2020

2021

2022

10,809

13,483

21,011

Beginning in 2019, the Department began implementing enhanced site safety requirements for construction projects in NYC, including a first-of-its-kind mandatory site safety training for workers on larger worksites and the Department increased proactive inspection protocols. These initiatives helped to reverse a decade-long trend of increased construction-related injuries in NYC.

In 2022, the Department further enhanced construction safety requirements by implementing new fraud-resistant safety training ID cards for construction workers, made changes to Construction Superintendent regulations, and launched the Major Projects Development Program. In addition, DOB doubled down on educational outreach and awareness efforts for the construction industry and is currently running a construction safety campaign, that involves visiting permitted construction sites of all sizes to promote site safety.

The Department is committed to continuing these enforcement and educational initiatives, working with our partners in the industry to strive for increased accountability and a safer city for all New Yorkers.

"The BTEA, and it's member contractors, applaud Acting Commissioner Vilenchik and the Department staff for its annual report on construction safety. This analysis of the data is an invaluable tool for our contractors to strengthen their corporate safety culture. We appreciate the transparency this document represents and continue to work hand in glove with the Department to move towards an accident free construction industry for the City and its residents," said Louis J. Coletti, President and CEO, Building Trades Employers' Association.

“The construction and development industries play a critical role in New York’s path to economic recovery,” said Zach Steinberg, Senior Vice President of Policy at the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). “We applaud DOB’s ongoing focus on elevating key data as part of efforts to improve construction safety citywide. REBNY is proud to partner with the public sector to prioritize construction safety, including our work to support Carlos’ Law and other sensible policies.”

“The safety of workers on the construction site should always be a priority, and it’s clear that there is still improvement to be made to ensure that is the case. With construction activity on the rise, it is critical that building owners and contractors who do not put the wellbeing of workers on their projects first are held responsible and that comprehensive site monitoring is taking place to identify and address dangerous and potentially deadly situations,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “New York’s hard-working tradesmen and tradeswomen, those who are on the front lines of our city’s key development projects, deserve to have their safety valued and protected on the jobsite. We will continue to do our part to ensure our members feel confident and safe as they head to work every day to support their families and pursue a comfortable life in the middle class.”

“We applaud the Department of Building’s continued efforts to address construction safety across our city,” said Jolie Milstein, President and CEO of NYSAFAH. “The affordable housing industry holds itself to the highest standards, and the fact that there were 37% fewer construction-related incidents in 2022 as compared with 2018 speaks to the progress that has been made in workplace safety.”

"Increases in construction injuries on building construction work sites are a tragedy and a grave concern that we need to take seriously as advocates, policy makers, and members of public service. We need to be creative and work together to address these injuries and improve construction safety on work sites, and we are grateful for all of the proactive steps that the DOB is taking in this regard," said Charlene Obernauer, Executive Director, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH).

“As construction continues to rebound, we applaud NYC DOB Acting Commissioner Vilenchik and his team for not just sounding the alarm about even a modest increase in construction-related incidents, accidents and fatalities that have occurred, but proactively implementing new measures to reverse this trend,” said Jim Bifulco, President of the Construction Safety Advisory Committee of New York. “As the premier Site Safety Manager and Training provider association in New York City, we understand how vital it is to provide proper training and education for workers to ensure everyone is safe on and around our job sites.”

“The Associated General Contractors of New York State (AGC NYS), New York’s leading statewide construction industry organization, shares Acting Commissioner Vilenchik’s goal of enhancing safety at worksites. This report highlights valuable information toward that end. Safety across the industry is priority number one for AGC NYS and its’ members. AGC NYS is committed to this effort and we look forward to continuing our work with Acting Commissioner Vilenchik and the Department of Buildings to make construction worksites throughout New York City safer,” said Mike Elmendorf, President and CEO, AGC NYS

“We continue to welcome the partnership with the Department to increase safety in the construction industry. While less than 1% of the construction workforce sustained an injury while working is laudable, we must continue to push that number down to zero. We’ll continue to work with our partners in government to openly talk about ways we can make the industry better which will allow us to deliver better projects and a safer workplace,” said Brian Sampson, President of the Associated Builders & Contractors, Empire State Chapter.

“The New York State Society of Professional Engineers supports the efforts of the NYC Department of Buildings in implementing additional construction safety protocols and education initiatives for construction projects and workers in NYC. The Society looks forward to continuing our relationship with the Department in making a safer city for all New Yorkers,” said Joseph A. Pasaturo, P.E., Immediate Past President of the NYS Society of Professional Engineers.

“On behalf of the NYC Special Riggers Association, façade restoration and scaffolding professionals throughout New York City, we commend Mayor Adams and NYC DOB Acting Commissioner Vilenchik for implementing new measures to prevent injuries and fatalities by combatting fraud, and improving educational outreach and awareness on construction safety,” said Veronika Sikorski, President of the NYCSRA. “We must ensure that construction workers, residents and passing pedestrians are kept safe, and we look forward to continuing to work with DOB Commissioner Vilenchik to enhance and maintain safety on and around our job sites.”