Scaffold collapse injures worker

When Juan Lombert accidentally backed into a section of scaffolding in front of 210 W. 251st St. on April 27, the scene was oddly casual. 

Between 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., firefighters and police waited in front of the scaffolding, only a high-tension power line serving as a barrier between staying erect and crashing to the sidewalk in front of it. 

The best the small group of emergency personnel could do was close 251st and tow away cars that could be in the debris wake if the line broke and the scaffolding collapsed. They also waited for Empire Scaffolding Systems, the company hired to build the structure, to come in and undo their work.

Once Empire arrived and started testing the damage, it was a little too much as the scaffolding collapsed, injuring one of the Long Island City-based company’s employees.

“They thought they could fix it, so they tried to hold it up with their truck and went on top,” said Tariq Chaudry, whose company, Rapid Masonry Repair, hired Empire to build the scaffolding. “They started dismantling and everything came down.”

The worker, whose name was not released, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, but Chaudry said the day of the accident that he’s expected to be OK, but police had no updated information on the employee’s status.

“He was complaining of a bit of shoulder pain, but that’s it,” Chaudry said.

The scaffolding was first erected four months ago, according to Chaudry, whose company was hired to do routine maintenance and repair on the seven-story apartment building’s balconies. 

“We’re working on the balconies in the back now, and then we’re going to work on the front,” he said, pointing to the street-side of the building where the scaffolding had crumbled. “That’s why we put this up, to protect people.”

But Iris McRae, who lives on the top floor, said the scaffolding has been up since at least November. Even worse, McRae said she’s hardly seen any work done. 

McRae, who is disabled and is mostly confined to her apartment, said she’s watched outside her window for months to check on what she has described as slow progress. She also watched the scaffolding collapse last week after spending the better part of her day witnessing the commotion following the U-Haul accident from her fire escape vantage point.

“I just started praying … his feet were moving,” she said, “You could see his head was bleeding and the paramedics got him removed.”

This latest incident may lend support to an ongoing city council effort to reform laws surrounding scaffolding and how long landlords can keep them up without work being done. 

In December, a bill that would set six-month limits on scaffolding began to gain some traction, but has since dropped off the radar.

Work was stalled at 210 W. 251st, Chaudry said, because of the winter snow. And while work on the building restarted in April, Chaudry said he actually could keep the scaffolding up for a year without working on it. 

While there aren’t restrictions on how long a contractor can leave scaffolding up, the city’s buildings department told The Press they must maintain a sidewalk shed and updated permits. They also could face fines of up to $25,000 if a structure collapses and injures someone.

No decision, however, has been made whether Empire will face a fine, especially since the company can argue the scaffolding only was compromised because of the U-Haul’s impact. 

The April 27 incident, McRae said, is a sign something needs to change with how long scaffolding can be left to idle without any real work being done.