New York City is suing to revoke the license of a contractor involved in the death of a construction worker who was killed by a falling stone at a Manhattan work site, the Daily News has reported.
The Department of Buildings (DOB) filed for Wlodzimierz Tomczak’s special rigger license to be revoked over claims Tomczak “did not take proper precautions” at an E. 50th St. façade restoration project where Nelson Salinas, 51, died, according to the published report.
Salinas was killed when he was working on scaffolding half way up a 14-story residential building in April. A coping stone was knocked loose by rigging used to support scaffolding, and the dislodged stone struck him in the head.
An DOB official told the newspaper that an agency probe later found Tomczak failed to produce “multiple inspection records … related to the scaffold setup.
Tomczak owns Jamaica, Queens-based Vlad Construction Ltd., city records show.
“Rather than properly designing and inspecting the installation of the suspended scaffold himself, as was required of him as the licensed special rigger, the respondent allowed his employees to determine the setup of the scaffold, which they completed improperly and in an unsafe manner,” the buildings official said.
“Licensees must closely adhere to all rules and regulations for the safety of all New Yorkers,” the DOB official said. “Cutting corners, ignoring rules and exercising bad judgment can lead to catastrophe.”
