Monday, March 3, 2014

Hudson Related Proud Of Roosevelt Island Riverwalk Building 7 Construction Track Record - Responds To Concerns Raised By NYC Council Member Ben Kallos

Image Of Roosevelt Island Riverwalk Building 7 Construction Site Today

Earlier today, Roosevelt Island and Upper East Side NYC Council Member Ben Kallos published a guest blog post regarding construction safety concerns at Hudson Related's Roosevelt Island Riverwalk Building 7 site. An excerpt:
... Many of you may have noticed ongoing demonstrations on Roosevelt Island and might have wondered the reasons behind them. Here’s some context: six of Riverwalk’s nine buildings have already been built, with three more still to go. However, protesters are raising concerns that construction on Riverwalk 7 is being completed by workers who are not being paid a living wage, health benefits, disability benefits, or retirement benefits and who may not have the apprenticeship training and years of on-the-job experience that they need for construction to be safer for both themselves and the residents of Roosevelt Island...
A Hudson Related spokesperson replied to this issue:
Hudson, Related and Monadnock Construction are proud of our track record at Riverwalk. We have an OCIP (Owner Controlled Insurance Program) to ensure that every construction worker is covered by workmen’s compensation insurance. The wages paid by subcontractors to their workers are far in excess of any living wage requirement being considered by the City. We employ a full-time Site Safety manager, licensed by New York City’s Department of Buildings and OSHA, who provides safety training and orientation and implementation of our site safety plan.
More On Roosevelt Island Riverwalk building 7 here and here.