►
Description
Docket #0398
Order for a hearing on the safety of construction sites in the City of Boston
A
Governor
baker's
march
20,
oh
my
god,
march
12th,
2020
executive
order
modifying
what
hold
on
before
I
get
too
ahead
of
myself.
I
have
to
gavel
us
and
sorry
getting
too
ahead
of
myself
traveling.
I'm
calling
this
hearing
to
an
order
for
the
record.
My
name
is
julia
mejia
city
counselor
at
large,
I'm
the
chair
of
small
business
and
workforce
development
and
I'm
joined
by
the
sponsors
of
this
docket.
I'm
councillor
flynn
of
district
2.,
councilor
breden
of
district
9.,
and
I
believe
we
are
also
waiting
on
councillor
flaherty
to
join
us
as
well.
A
Who
is
one
of
the
co-sponsors
I'm
recognizing
my
colleagues
in
the
order
of
arrival
when
they
shall
arrive
here.
Someone
will
give
me
the
heads
up
and
I
will
recognize
them
and,
according
to
governor
baker's
march,
12
2020
executive
order,
modifying
cert
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
the
requirement
that
public
bodies
conduct
its
meetings
in
a
public
place
that
is
open
and
physically
accessible
to
the
public.
The
city
council
will
be
conducting
this
hearing
virtually
via
zoom.
A
This
enables
the
city
to
carry
out
its
responsibilities
while
adhering
to
public
health,
accommodations
and
ensuring
public
access
to
its
deliberations
through
adequate
alternative
means.
This
public
hearing
is
being
recorded
and
is
being
live
streamed
at
boston.gov
city,
slash,
council
dash
tv
and
broadcasted
on
xfinity
channel
8,
rcn,
channel
82
and
files
channel
964.
A
Boston.Gov
and
will
be
part
of
the
record
and
available
to
all
counselors.
Today's
hearing
is
on
docket
0398
order
for
a
hearing
on
the
safety
and
constru
of
construction
sites
in
the
city
of
boston.
The
following
individuals
from
the
administration
will
be
participating
at
today's
hearing.
We
have
sean
lyndon,
commissioner
of
isd,
brian
duran,
building
inspector
isd,
superintendent,
general
gerald
bailey
from
the
boston
police
department,
superintendent,
marcus
heading
from
the
boston
police
department.
A
We
are
also
joined
by
advocates,
including
myron
perez
of
the
new
england,
regional
council
of
carpenters
and
others
were
invited
and
we
will
be
waiting
on
them
to
appear.
I
will
now
recognize
my
colleagues
for
opening
statements,
starting
with
the
sponsors
before
moving
to
counselors
in
order
of
arrival
counselor
flynn.
You
now
have
the
floor.
B
Thank
you
councilman
here,
and
I
just
want
to
first
of
all
say
thank
you
constantly
here
for
sharing
this
important
hearing.
I
had
the
opportunity
to
talk
to
council
flaherty
several
times
this
morning
and
yesterday
he
is
going
to
try
to
join
us,
but
he
had
a
pressing
issue,
so
I
will,
I
will
be
filling
in
and
covering
for
council
of
flaherty,
but
again
want
to
say
thank
you
to
you,
council
mejia,
to
the
panel.
B
B
Previous
tragedies
caused
by
unsafe
construction
conditions
have
reinforced
the
significance
of
examining
boston's
guidelines
for
the
safety
of
construction
sites.
Hazardous
construction
sites
pose
a
threat
to
construction
workers,
an
occupation
that
that
has
over
20
of
workplace
fatalities
according
to
osha
boston
residents
who
live,
live
and
work
around
construction
sites.
Pedestrians
who
walk
in
the
area
as
well
have
expressed
concern
while
boston
continues
to
advance
and
expand
new
construction
sites.
We
are
confronted
with
the
question
of
what
is
being
done
to
make
the
site
as
safe
for
workers
as
possible.
B
That's
my
number
one
priority
and
I
know
it's
the
number
one
priority
from
for
many
construction
workers
are
often
at
high
risk
of
suffering
injuries
fatalities.
According
to
osha,
we
have
witnessed
several
incidents
in
recent
years
that
injured
or
even
killed
construction
workers,
including
a
recent
incident
this
year
on
high
street,
which
is
in
my
district,
where
two
workers
were
unfortunately
killed
on
a
construction
site.
B
You
know,
in
my
opinion,
we
should
not
allow
them
to
have
access
and
bidding
on
city
construction
projects
you
need
to
have.
You
need
to
treat
your
workers
with
respect
and
dignity
in
and
in
a
safe
environment,
and
if
you
continue
to
provide
a
work
environment,
that's
not
safe
for
workers.
I
think
that
disqual
disqualifies
you
for
city
contracts.
B
A
Thank
you,
klaus
councillor
breden.
In
the
sake
of
time,
I
understand
that
the
administration
does
have
some
time
constraints
and
they
will
need
to
leave
by
three,
and
we
also.
We
also
only
have
one
advocate
here
to
speak,
so
I
will
let
them
present
as
well
before
turning
it
over
to
the
counselors
for
questions.
Each
panelist
will
have
about
five
minutes
to
provide
testimony
and
we'd
like
to
start
off
with
commissioner
lyndon.
Commissioner
linden,
you
now
have
the
floor.
D
Thank
you
very
much
chairperson
media
good
afternoon,
councillor
flynn,
councillor
braden
and
all
present.
My
name
is
sean
lydon.
I
am
the
commissioner
of
inspectional
services
department.
I'm
joined
here
today
by
brian
ronan
he's
the
director
of
building
instructors,
superintendent,
eddings
and
superintendent
bailey
of
the
boston
police
department.
D
D
Special
services
department
is
a
primary
permanent
enforcement
agency
for
construction
in
the
city
of
boston,
isd
houses,
five
different
regulatory
divisions
that
each
enforce
various
federal
state
and
local
statutes,
codes
and
ordinances
significant
to
the
subject
of
its
hearing.
Isd's
building
and
structures.
Division
is
responsible
for
issuing
permits
and
inspecting
building
construction
work,
including
minor
and
major
alterations
to
existing
structures,
new
construction
demolition
and
use
and
occupancy
of
buildings.
D
The
building
division
at
isd
has
three
operational
units
responsible
for
inspections,
the
building
division,
the
electrical
division,
the
plumbing
and
gas
division,
25
building
inspectors,
nine
electrical
inspectors
and
eight
plumbing
and
gas
inspectors
are
all
certified
building
officials
that
receive
extensive
training
and
ongoing
education
and
certification
by
state,
federal
and
international
code.
Official
agencies,
they're
trained
and
certified
to
ensure
the
construction
work
is
done
properly
to
code
and
safe,
both
during
and
after
construction
for
the
life
of
the
building.
D
The
inspectors
at
isd
are
continually
upgrading
their
qualifications
in
the
form
of
continuing
education
as
methods,
materials
and
techniques
are
constantly
evolving
in
this
industry.
This
is
also
required
to
maintain
certification
as
local
inspectors,
which
keeps
us
abreast
of
any
developments,
and
any
concerns
in
regards
to
this
field,
as
part
of
our
permitting
process
require
every
apple
every
permit
application,
which
has
a
significant
scope
of
alteration
to
have
a
licensed
contractor
to
do
the
work.
D
These
contractors
must
maintain
licenses
from
various
state
agencies
in
good
standing
for
the
duration
of
the
work
from
application
to
final
sign
off.
Contractors
are
also
required
to
sign
and
submit
a
maddox
higgins
affidavit
of
workplace
safety,
indicating
whether
osha
has
issued
any
workplace
safety
violations
to
this
company
within
the
preceding
five
years.
The
maddox
higgins
affidavit
also
requires
a
contractor
to
include
their
experience
rating,
which
comes
from
the
massachusetts
workers
comp
inspection
bureau.
D
These
pre-construction
steps
are
important,
ensuring
that
work
sites
and
construction
work
are
safe
prior
to
the
start
of
the
job.
However,
ongoing
required
inspections
in
response
to
complaints
and
concerns
about
job
sites
allows
the
department
to
ensure
that
sites
and
workers
are
safe
during
the
work
itself.
When
problems
are
identified
upon
inspection,
our
inspectors
can
suspend
our
revoked
permits.
I
recommend
for
license
suspension
or
relocation
issue.
Stop
work,
orders
in
a
case
where
workplace
safety
issues
work
with
osha
to
investigate
and
address
those
issues
as
needed.
D
D
Events,
which
includes
site
inspections
across
the
city,
informational,
webinars
and
engaging
with
property
owners
about
keeping
the
property's
properties
safe
and
up
to
code,
require
submission
of
facade
and
fire
escape
affidavits,
along
with
engineering
reports
to
ensure
that
the
building
remains
safe
for
its
occupants
and
public
isd
is
committed
to
doing
everything
in
our
power
to
make
sure
buildings,
construction
site
and
construction
workers
and
the
public
are
safe.
Unfortunately,
the
hazards
of
construction
work
are
real
and
sometimes
tragedy.
D
Does
occur,
we
have
effective
systems
in
place
in
operations
to
mitigate
these
hazards,
but
we
are
willing,
as
always,
to
work
with
the
council
and
other
city
agencies
and
continue
to
make
boston
a
safer
place
to
work.
Boston
is
one
of
the
safest
cities
in
the
country
per
square
foot
of
construction.
D
A
E
E
A
F
A
G
Thank
you
madanchia.
This
is
minor.
President
750
dorchester
avenue
would
like
to
reaffirm
our
support
for
working
safely.
The
nature
of
construction
is
inherently
dangerous,
but
for
those
performing
the
work
as
well
as
pedestrians,
therefore,
the
importance
of
adhering
to
safety
guidelines
regulations
cannot
be
overstated.
G
A
B
Thank
thank
you,
councilman,
and
I
failed
to
mention
in
my
opening
statement
the
excellent
work
of
councillor
braden
as
well
on
this
issue.
So
thank
you,
councillor
braden,
so
so
my
question,
my
question
is,
and
as
I
mentioned,
council
flaherty
has
some
questions
as
well,
and
I've
worked
with
old
superintendent,
eddings
and
daily
in
the
past
on
different
issues,
so
the
the
very
professional
and
dedicated
city
employees,
as
as
as
commissioner
lydon.
So
let
me
let
me
go
into
council
flaherty's
questions
and
then
I'll
I'll
go
into
my
questions.
B
D
D
B
D
D
Violations,
if,
if
there
are
some,
it
goes
back
five
years,
what
isd
has
taken
a
position
as
an
a
1.0
anything
above
1.0.
Any
nature
of
any
construction
site
in
its
construction
is
probably
it's
the
second
largest
hazardous
work
in
in
in
the
world,
behind
fishing,
behind
crabbing
and
stuff
like
that,
but
anyway,
1.0
is
a
cut-off
line.
What
you
have
is
a
higher
in
the
higher
risk
trades
such
as
roofing
such
as
heavy
heavy
steel.
D
You
you
become,
you
start
those
companies
start
off
with
a
much
higher
risk
right
off
the
bat
and
they
will
never
get
below
a
certain
rating
through
the
through
the
insurance
companies
because
of
the
risk
of
the
nature
of
the
job
itself
at
1.0.
What
isd
will
question
we
will
reach
out
to
the
insurance
company?
Why
do
they
have
a
higher
than
1.0
rating
and
what
happens
is
basically
well?
D
They
had
somebody
had
a
perhaps
a
back
injury
claim
three
years
ago
and
that
counts
against
this
rating,
or
they
had
a
whatever
type
of
injury,
any
severe
injuries.
It's
going
to
put
that
that's
this!
The
insurance
companies
who
give
this
rating
any
severe
injuries
or
fatalities.
It's
going
to
put
the
rating
through
the
roof
we
will
not
give
up.
We
will
not
issue
a
permit
to
these
entities.
B
D
Basically,
there
there
are
loopholes
and,
fortunately
isd.
You
know
I
must
say
that
we're
alerted
to
I
was
it
was.
It
was
an
entity
working
under
different
licenses,
different
different
applicants,
different
name,
but
we
were
alerted
to
this
and
we
promptly
went
out
and
shut
down
this
shut
down
the
site,
and
unfortunately,
one
of
these
one
one
of
the
entities
in
a
fatality
that
resulted
in
fatality
with
this
company
in
in
a
nutshell,
we,
you
know
we
have
them
out
of
town,
but
it
was
through
the
loophole.
The
loophole
is
tight.
B
Yeah
they
we
have.
We
have
a
lot
of
companies
in
the
city
that
try
to
play
games
with
these,
with
these
loopholes
of
applying
for
a
a
a
an
application
in
different
names,
and
I
mean,
like
you,
commissioner,
I
you
know,
we
take
this
very
seriously.
Most
52
percent
of
the
development
that's
happening
in
the
city
of
boston
is
happening
in
my
district
and
we
need
to
make
sure
that
companies
that
do
are
working
in
the
city
are
safe.
But
I
guess
the
question
that
we
have
is:
are
there
any
penalties
for
perjury?
D
Leave
that
to
the
court
of
law.
Obviously
you
know
we're
we're
a
that's:
that's
our
complaint
will
go
to
the
state.
The
state
is
the
governing
body
within
within
all
the
state
of
massachusetts.
So
and
we
notified
the
state,
the
state,
the
bb-irs
bureau,
of
building
regulations
and
standards.
They
are
the
governing
body
for
the
city
of
boston
as
far
as
the
regulations
and
standards,
and
they
are
also
the
the
judicial
body
in
the
construction
industry
unless
it
goes
obviously
to
court.
D
B
Is
is
it?
Is
it
common
superintendent
that
sites
that
do
request
a
detail
for
a
a
police
officer
to
work
at
a
construction
site?
Is
it
common
that
the
detail
is
not
filled
just
because
of
lack
of
offices
that
are
are
that
are
available?
We
we
have
a
lot
of
police
as
as,
as
you
know,
better
than
better
than
all
that
that
are
working
double
double
shifts,
but
I
I
just
want
to
know
at
times
it
does
seem
like
we're.
Not
able
to
fill
details
is
that
is
that
accurate.
F
Well,
some
some
details
do
go
unfilled,
but
it's
not
necessarily
common
form
not
to
not
to
be
filled.
It
depends
on
a
lot
of
things.
It
gives
forced
overtime,
they
require
officers,
work
that
way.
Some
details
won't
be
filled,
it
could
be
on
a
holiday
or
a
weekend.
Offices
generally
sometimes
do
not
take
details
on
the
weekends,
but
it's
not
necessarily
common,
but
there
are
details
that
will
go
until.
B
So
I
guess
to
commission
a
leiden
when
you,
when
you're
looking
at
a
at
a
company
that
applies
for
a
permit.
Are
you
looking
at
a
company
in
their
safety
record
as
it
relates
to
their
training
in
providing
providing
their
workers
with
the
necessary
tools
and
education
and
training
to
be
to
be
successful?.
D
Council
flynn,
our
what
and
up
during
our
permitting
process.
Once
again,
you
know
as
far
as
the
safety
goes,
our
maddox
higgins,
that's
probably
the
most
comprehensive
screen,
and
that's
because
an
insurance
company
they
are
the
they're,
the
they're,
the
screening
element
of
this
and
then
you're
not
going
to
get
much
by
an
insurance
company.
D
You
know
in
order
to
pass
a
series
of
of
examinations
and
also
also
oral
presentation
to
this
to
the
board,
but
instead
the
board
of
building
regulations
and
standards
in
order
to
achieve
this
license
in
the
first
place,
that's
for
the
license
and
that's
the
background
screen
with
the
and
the
insurance
and
also,
I
must
say,
boston.
You
know
as
far
as
a
big
city,
it's
a
relatively
small
city,
so
you
can
there's
a
lot
of
individuals
here
been
around
here.
D
B
Yeah.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Commissioner.
An
unsafe
company
has
no
business
working
in
boston.
In
my
opinion,
when
you
come
to
boston
to
work
you
you
need
to
have
the
necessary
training
education
to
do
your
job
effectively,
but
to
do
your
job
effectively,
you
have
to
have
a
an
excellent
training
and
safety
program.
B
Unfortunately,
many
companies
don't
have
it,
but,
as
I
reference
the
the
building
trends
do
an
exceptional
job
of
educating
companies
about
about
the
critical
role
of
safety
in
the
workplace,
and
I
know
minor
perez
also
from
the
carpenters
union,
highlighted
that
council
me
here.
That's
all
the
questions
I
have
I
have
for
this
piano.
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
piano.
I
appreciate
them
being
here
and
I
want
to
say
thank
you
for
the
work
they
do
in
the
city.
C
I
don't
have
any
questions
at
this
time.
Well,
the
only
thought
I
had
is
is
there
a
system
of?
Is
there
a
whistleblower
system
available
for
workers
who
feel
that
there's
unsafe
work
practices
on
the
job
that
are
health
and
safety
issues
that
can
that
they
can
report
is?
Do
we
have
that
sort
of
a
system
in
the
city.
D
A
Thank
you,
council
breedon.
I
am
curious.
Is
there
a
just
curious
if
you
can
just
walk
us
through
the
process
in
terms
of
you
know,
if
there's
a
history,
if
there's
any
background
checks
that
are
done
with
some
of
these
companies
that
we
are
contracting
with
and
is
that
information
stored
in
a
place
that
is
public
so
that
folks
know
who
are
these
usual
suspects
or
people
who
we
need
to
be
super?
Mindful?
Can
you
just
kind
of
walk
us
through
what
these
background
checks?
If
any
look
like.
D
Madam
chairperson,
we
have,
we
actually
get
updates
consistently
from
the
state
of
massachusetts,
the
commonwealth
of
massachusetts,
as
far
as
suspension,
a
revocation
of
licenses
granted
by
the
state
of
massachusetts,
and
that,
basically,
that
is,
that
is
the
governing
body,
as
is
the
licensing
itself,
and
they
do.
They
update
us
daily
on
what
has
happened
throughout
the
whole
state,
not
only
the
city
of
boston,
but
where
the
individuals
from
what
the
cs
is
about
and
that
is
incorporated
into
the
database.
D
It's
updated
daily.
Basically,
I
mean
the
notifications
from
the
state
are
daily
from
robbie
anderson
and
from
the
bbrs
those
notifications.
As
soon
as
suspension
or
revocation
this
office
will
get
daily
if
it
happened
five
times
a
week,
it
happened
20
times
a
week
immediately
that
this
these
all
jurisdictions
across
the
state
of
massachusetts
are
notified.
D
A
B
You
know
miner
what
what
can
we
do
to
make
the
the
job
sites
safer
for
for
all
workers?
In
you
know,
minor
minor
is
with
the
carpenters
union,
but
we
want
to
make
the
job
site
safe
for
100
of
the
workers
that
come
into
into
boston,
union
and
non-union.
So
I
just
wanted
to
get
a
get
an
idea
from
miner
how
we
can
go
about
doing
that
from
based
on
his
experience
in
the
field
for
many
years.
G
Thank
you,
councillor
fling
one
of
the
things
that
we
found
to
be
highly
effective
in
the
carpenters
union.
We
have
a
lot
of
workers
that
are
immigrants
from
central
america,
south
america
and
one
of
the
pieces
that
we
found,
that
is
helping
us
tremendously
to
reduce
accidents,
is
providing
a
oceanic
class
in
the
native
language.
George.
Truly,
he
is
an
immigrant
from
guatemala,
a
first
generation
immigrant,
and
I
cannot
tell
you
enough.
G
I
think
how
helpful
it
is
for
our
immigrant
workforce
to
to
be
able
to
take
this
class
osha
theory
in
their
own
native
language.
We
have
seen
a
huge
reduction.
This
is
also
a
requirement
on
a
state
funded
projects
and
public
projects,
and
if
that
was
to
be
moved
on
to
the
private
projects
as
well
as
a
requirement
to
work
in
the
city
of
boston,
you
must
have
investigatory
class
with
a
theory
union
or
non-union
person.
It
just
is
of
huge
help.
B
Thank
you.
Thank
you
minor
and
I
guess
just
a
follow-up
question.
Miner.
One
of
the
most
unconscionable
things
I
see
in
the
city
on
on
a
construction
site
is,
is
wage
theft.
I
see
I
see.
Workers
literally
have
to
chase
their
boss
around
to
get
their
paycheck
at
times
they
get
a
fraction
of
their
paycheck
or
or
they
get
it
very
late
or
they
don't
get.
It
could
get
it
at
all
which
is
unconscionable.
B
G
G
Often
we
have
people
calling
reaching
out
to
us
asking
us
to
help
them
collect
their
pay.
I
will
say
to
you
with
all
confidence.
This
is.
This
is
a
huge
problem
on
building
of
affordable
housing,
because
it
is
very
tight
budgets
and
obviously
developers
trying
to
build
more
uni
units
with
less
money.
G
If
you
will
so
those
are
the
two
things
we
find
work,
workers
cutting
taking
shortcuts
to
get
work
done,
and
we
we
find
people
who
don't
get
paid,
or
they
are
absolutely
just
not
on
the
books,
which
creates
a
lot
of
problems
from
not
being
not
having
workers
complete
compensation
in
case
of
an
accident.
It's
just
a
huge
problem
that
it
will
be
great
to
find
measures
to
make
sure
that
this
is
not
happening
in
the
city
of
boston,
but
it
is,
it
is
a.
B
You
know
to
exploit
workers
whether
they're,
born
in
boston
or
they're,
born
outside
of
outside
of
the
country
is
unconscionable
in
our
city,
and
those
types
of
companies
should
never
have
a
place
working
in
our
city.
That's
just
my
that's
just
my
opinion
anyway.
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
panelists
that
provided
exceptional
information
here
today.
Thank
you,
council,
media.
A
A
H
A
B
I
I
A
Thank
you,
counselor
bach.
I
concur
and
also
agree
how
important
it
is
for
us
to
not
only
keep
this
in
committee,
but
to
perhaps
counselor
flynn,
maybe
identifying
some
of
the
key
stakeholders
who
are
not
here
at
the
table.
Maybe
some
folks
who
had
some
personal
lived
experience
that
we
can
drop
from.
A
So
I
think
that
if
we
can
put
together
a
list
of
some
of
those
folks
for
the
next
conversation
for
the
hearing,
I
think
that
would
add
a
lot
of
value
to
this
discussion
and
I
do
believe,
there's
an
opportunity
here
for
us
to
lean
in
a
little
bit
deeper.
So
absolutely
we'll
be
recommending
that
to
stay
in
committee
and
and
look
to
your
leadership
for
what
the
next
steps
look
like.
A
Council
flynn
and
council
braden
and
counselor
flaherty
as
lead
sponsors,
and
thank
you
to
the
administration
for
joining
in
minor
for
lana
perez
for
being
here
with
us
today
and
looking
forward
to
your
thought.
Partnership
as
we
continue
to
move
forward
in
this
discussion
and
unless
my
colleagues
have
any
closing
remarks.
I'd
like
to
just
thank
everyone
and
say
that
we
are
safe
to
call
this
hearing
to
a
close,
so
gathering
us
out.
Thank
you
so
very
much
for
your
time.
Thank.