UPDATE Throggs Neck: One Construction Worker Injured at 998 Brush Avenue

One construction worker was reported injured by EMS in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, close to Unionport / Castle Hill on Saturday, July 15.

FDNY/EMS officials said they received a call regarding an incident at 998 Brush Avenue at 7.33 a.m. on Saturday morning.

“Units were assigned to the above address for reports of a trauma,” an FDNY spokesperson said. “One patient was transported to Jacobi.” The condition or description of the patient is unknown according to FDNY.

Norwood News had initially received unconfirmed reports of a crane collapse at the location and reached out to NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) for more information. Andrew Rudansky, DOB press secretary, responded and said the incident was not a crane collapse.

“DOB inspectors originally were called to the scene to investigate reports of a worker injury,” Rudansky said. “However, upon our arrival to the location, it was determined that this worker injury incident happened on a bridge construction project.”

He added that infrastructure projects such as this were outside DOB’s jurisdiction. “Our inspectors left without investigating further,” he said. Norwood News has since reached out to NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) for more information about the incident from its Division of Bridges and will update this story upon receipt of any response.

Request for Proposals were advertised in recent weeks by DOT’s Division of Bridges for various bridge-related construction projects. “The City of New York has request for proposals available for qualified consulting engineering firms interested in design and construction support services for fender system replacement for Roosevelt Island Bridge over the East River, Boroughs of Manhattan and Queens,” an extract from the ad reads.

Norwood News also reached out to the NYPD for information on the Throggs Neck incident. A department spokesperson said he had no information on it based on the location and time provided.

As reported three days ago, FDNY officials said two workers were injured following a construction site collapse at Orchard Beach Pavilion in the northeast Bronx on Thursday, July 13. The accident happened at approximately 11:18 a.m.

FDNY Chief Kenneth Scanlon, deputy chief of Division 7, said that units responded to reports of two construction workers trapped at the location of the construction site. “Upon arrival, our Orchard Beach EMS units (87 Paul) encountered two patients who were trapped under a large piece of concrete ceiling, dimensions about 20 by 15 feet, which had fallen upon them,” he said.

He continued, “Our fire unit Squad 61, Ladder 61 and Engine 97 responded. They packaged the patients, assisted with medical care, and removed them via Ladder 6’s aerial ladder. Both patients were taken to Jacobi Hospital in serious but stable condition.” Read the full story here.

As also reported, two days prior to the Orchard Beach incident, on Tuesday, July 11, FDNY officials said six people were injured in a separate construction site incident in Olinville, following a partial wall collapse at Barker and Burke Avenues.

FDNY officials said following what was described as a major technical rescue from the Bronx construction site, six people suffered injuries, including three who were hospitalized. FDNY officials said they received a call at 4.07 p.m. on July 11, and units responded to 3073 Barker Avenue.

“Members were able to determine that the incident had occurred at a construction site a that location,” FDNY officials said. “There were six patients.” They said three were treated at the scene but refused transportation to hospital, and three were transported to Jacobi Medical Center in Morris Park. Their conditions or descriptions were unknown. Read the full story here.

District 13 Council Member Marjorie Velázquez, chair of the Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection released a statement on the Brush Avenue incident on Saturday.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the construction worker and their family, and I wish them well in their recovery,” she said. “This past week has served as a reminder that we must do right by our construction workers, who literally build our communities from the ground up. Our labor force plays a pivotal role in all corners of our city and its economy, and city workers must be provided the resources and tools needed to have access to a safe workplace environment.”

The councilwoman added, “As the Chair of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, I am committed to working with my colleagues to identify solutions that will ensure the safety of our labor force, especially for long-term projects such as the one at Brush Avenue and Lafayette Avenue (Bruckner Interchange).”

She concluded saying, “I want to thank the New York City Fire Department and our emergency services for their swift response to this emergency. I look forward to continued communication with FDNY, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and New York City Department of Buildings to find ways to keep our construction workers as safe as possible.”

Velázquez and District 18 Council Member Amanda Farías, chair of the Council’s Committee on Economic Development, had also released the following statement in response to the Orchard Beach incident.

“Earlier this week, construction workers on-site at the Orchard Beach Pavilion work site were injured after a ceiling collapse,” the two wrote. “Emergency responders arrived on the scene, successfully extracting the workers and transported them to Jacobi Medical Center, where they are in stable condition. This unfortunate incident is currently under investigation.”

Velázquez went on to say, “Our construction workers are the backbone of our labor force, and they deserve our utmost respect and support. Far too often, preventable workplace accidents occur, especially in the construction industry. As the chair of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, I believe it is essential that we work to ensure that union workers and trade professionals have access to a safe work environment, as well as the tools and resources they need to be successful.”

She added, “My thoughts and prayers are with the construction workers, their families, and friends, and I wish them both a speedy and full recovery.”

For her part, Farías said, “The Orchard Beach Pavilion restoration has been a long awaited feat for beachgoers across the City, and Council Member Velázquez and I are keeping the workers affected and their families close to our hearts as they make a speedy recovery.”

She added, “As chair of the Committee on Economic Development, it is important to me that all city projects and the workers within them have a safe and just workplace, while understanding the challenging work they are doing everyday. I am looking forward to the continued communication with the NYCEDC and Gilbane, and for a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse.”

District 13 broadly covers the neighborhoods of Allerton, City Island, Country Club, Edgewater Park, Ferry Point, Locust Point, Morris Park, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Schuylerville, Silver Beach, Spencer Estates, Throggs Neck, Van Nest, Waterbury LaSalle, Westchester Square, and Zerega.

Meanwhile, District 18 while, District 18 broadly covers the neighborhoods of Soundview, Castle Hill, Parkchester, Clason Point, and Harding Park.

As previously reported, three building contractors were charged in the first Bronx manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide case following a construction accident in which Ecuadorian immigrant worker, Segundo Manuel Huerta Mayancela, 46, died at 94 East 208th Street in Norwood on Aug. 27, 2019.

Separately, as also reported, three migrant construction workers in their twenties, one from Ecuador and one with a young family, who were seriously burned following a work place accident / flash fire in the Williamsbridge section of The Bronx have filed a negligence lawsuit against BE Bronx Builders, LLC, Stagg Group, and Mark Stagg. The accident occurred at 739 East Gun Hill Road, a new building under construction, on Monday, May 15, as reported.

As also reported, after a worker fell 30 feet from a building site in Wakefield on Tuesday, June 6, NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) issued various violations to Stagg Group, which was one of the entities behind the development at that site also.

*David Green contributed to this story.

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible.Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7.The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts.The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students.As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to [email protected] or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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