New York, NY —
A vigil was held today for a construction worker who died when he fell off a scaffold and families of other workers who've died during the city's building boom are demanding stricter enforcement of safety rules.
REPORTER: Louis Colietti, head of the Building Trade Employer's Association, says it's a tale of two cities when it comes to training, and safety enforcement.
COLIETTI: There's a construction in which people are trained, and there's an industry where people haven't been trained. And there's gonna be more than enough work for both. And lives and public safety is gonna be in jeopardy unless we set one standard for everybody to follow.
REPORTER: Last year, 29 construction workers died on the job, the highest number in five years. New immigrants, and non-union workers made up 75 percent of those fatalities. Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster says the city has launched several safety initiatives, including increased inspections.