City Halts Work At Luxury 29th St Tower After Fumes Sicken 9

MURRAY HILL, NY — The Department of Buildings halted construction at a tower on E. 29th St. after several workers were sickened with carbon monoxide. Three violations were issued to the general contractor and safety managers of Lendlease Construction.

On Tuesday evening, Fire Department and DOB officials reported to 30 E. 29th St. after some workers complained of feeling dizzy. Emergency medical services had to evacuate two workers by lifting them out with baskets and ropes. A total of nine construction workers were transported to nearby hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

A DOB investigation found that construction workers were in the cellar of the site, which is an under-construction 46-story tower, according to DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky. Two gas-powered generators were found at the site, which FDNY officials said caused carbon monoxide levels to skyrocket.

In the cellar, carbon monoxide levels were measured at 700 parts per million. Above ground, levels were still more than 300 parts per million. A reading of 10 is considered dangerous, said John Esposito, the FDNY's chief of special operations.

The DOB issued a full stop work order Tuesday night.

Lendlease Construction, the contractors on the job, are only allowed to do work to make the site safer, according to Rudansky.

Rudansky said violations were issued to the general contractor Gerald Bianco of Leadlease for failing to safeguard the site as well as the site safety manager Martin Cohen and fire safety manager Kevin Norwin for failing to perform the duties of their respective jobs.

The department last inspected the site on Jan. 11, and inspectors found no violations, according to Rudansky. Using gas-powered generators on construction sites requires specific rules to ensure proper ventilation, said Rudansky.

The construction site at E. 29th St. is slated to be an Art-Deco inspired residential tower, rising 639-feet, developed by Rockefeller Group. The 46-story tower is expected to house 123 units, with some duplexes to have two-story high windows, New York YIMBY reported.

"We were notified by our general contractor of an incident earlier this evening [on Tuesday] at our project on E 29th Street," the developers, Rockefeller Group, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"It is our understanding that some workers were exposed to elevated levels of carbon monoxide. All work at the site has been halted and first responders are on the scene attending to those affected. At this time our concern is for those who may be injured, and we have personnel on-site to assist the authorities in any way we can."

Rockefeller directed Patch to Lendlease for further questions and noted that a sub-contractor for Lendlease was doing the construction work at the time.

Lendlease did not respond to phone-calls to its New York office for comment, and it unclear who the sub-contractor was.

Photo by Sydney Pereira Lead image caption: From left to right, John Sarrocco, Battalion Chief at FDNY; Kathleen Knuth, First Deputy Chief of the EMS Division at FDNY and President of FDNY Women; and John Esposito, Chief of Special Operations Command at FDNY brief reporters at the scene on Tues., Feb. 5, 2019.