A reader sent us the above photo this week out of concern that the construction worker was in a wee bit of danger, standing so close to the edge of the building without any apparent harness or other safety equipment. The worker was setting up scaffolding on the roof of the Stephen Gaynor School on 90th Street in preparation for a possible rooftop addition to the school, which serves children with learning difficulties. We’ve posted two pictures of the worker below, and if you click on them, they will enlarge.
We asked the contractor for a comment and he forwarded us a response from a sales coordinator at Spring Scaffolding, which is doing the scaffolding work:
“Harnesses should be on at all times. There are certain instances, however, where the men cannot be tied off because it may create more of a safety hazard as such. All of this said, I will make a call to the foreman and remind him that this is a high profile job and there should be extra care given to all applicable safety codes.”
A spokesman for the school wrote to us: “Of course, the school isn’t responsible for monitoring workers use of safety gear.”
Penny Ryan, district manager for Community Board 7, told us that the Gaynor School is planning to ask the board’s preservation committee for permission to build an addition to the building, and is creating a “mock-up” of the addition using the scaffolding. Eventually, the school wants to build a playing field on the roof, according to a plan (pdf) on the Gaynor School website.
I LIVE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THERE.WHEN THE CLAREMONT CLOSED IN ’07,THEY STARTED WORK CONVERTING TO A CONDO.WHEN THE MARKET FELL THROUGH,THIS SAT STILL UNTIL THE SCHOOL TOOK OVER.THIS BUILDING HAS BEEN WORKED ON FOR 5 YEARS.MY QUESTION IS WHAT DECADE WILL THIS BE FINISHED,THE WHOLE BLOCK IS SICK OF LOOKING AT THIS..THEY COULDVE BUILT 2 EMPIRE STATE BLDS IN THE TIME THEY ARE TAKING FIXING THIS UP. BRING BACK THE HORSES!!!!!!!!!
NOT ONLY THAT,BUT THIS IS AN “ELITE”PRIVATE SCHOOL. THE KIDS ARE GOING TO SCHOOL THERE NOW.WITH SCAFFOLDING,CRANES,DRILLING I WOULDNT PUT MY KIDS IN DANGER AND PAY THOUSANDS IN TUITION.
WHY ARE WE TYPING IN ALL CAPS?
NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH YELLING.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOWWWWWW JAMES BROWN! JAMES BROWN!
I remember the the Claremont Horse stable and all I could say is PEE YOU!This block stunk and the street was covered in alot of Horse mess. That aside the developer that went belly up and left the building Vacant for years,leaving it open to Vandals and squatters. It made me very nervious when I had to walk down the street at night.
I think the community owes a debt of graditued to the Stephen Gaynor school for taking a eye sore and turning it into a vibrant part of this neighborhood. Now when I walk by the building on my way to work I can’t help but smile when I look at those childrens sweet little faces.
The construction could be a pain some times but in the long run I think we all will be better off once its done. lets not forget this is NYC.