Construction work in New York City will be allowed to continue at
full capacity, despite calls for an industry-wide halt earlier this
week amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo deemed construction work essential in an
executive order he signed Wednesday, which mandated many other
workplaces have 50% of their employees work from home or not at all
starting Friday at 8 p.m., in an attempt to curb the spread of the
virus. He increased these restrictions to 75% in a tweet Thursday
morning, but did not specify when that measure would go into effect.
Construction is among the several industries Cuomo has exempted
from this order, including residential service work, health, food,
grocery, sanitation, government and emergency relief.
Earlier this week, two New York City Council members called for a
temporary shutdown of construction sites, saying it put workers at risk
for contracting the illness. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh halted
construction there until further notice earlier this week, and its
neighbor, Cambridge, Massachusetts, followed suit Thursday.
Construction has been allowed to continue in other cities across
the U.S., and construction advocates nationally and in New York pushed
back against the idea of a temporary ban and argued the move would leave
the economy in more trouble after the virus, Bisnow previously
reported.
“As Governor Cuomo noted, some construction is essential, and we
must continue building critical infrastructure … that sustains the
lifeblood of our city,” New York Building Congress President and CEO
Carlo Scissura said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
This essential work includes projects such as housing, schools and transportation, he said.
“A full mandate to close every construction site could be devastating for New York as a whole,” Scissura said.
https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/construction-development/cuomo-construction-ban-coronavirus-103505
No comments:
Post a Comment