There was some discrepancy over what caused an accident at the Williamsburg construction site of a future Whole Foods.
A worker at the construction site, at 238 Bedford Avenue, plummeted around 11:30 yesterday morning, according to a spokesperson with the New York City Fire Department, which responded to a call reporting the incident. The construction worker was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center and remains there in serious, but stable condition, the FDNY spokesperson said.
U/D Brooklyn: Bedford ave & North 4 St FDNY on scene removed the worker from the trench. pic.twitter.com/9IBubuXXjj
A worker at a Williamsburg construction site of a future Whole Foods at 238 Bedford Avenue, was injured at 11:30 yesterday morning, according to a spokesperson with the New York City Fire Department, which responded to a call about the incident. The construction worker was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center and remains there in serious, but stable condition, the FDNY spokesperson said.
Rendering of the new 240 Bedford Avenue. (Brownstoner)
The injury occurred because the worker hit himself with a hose while placing concrete below ground at the site, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Buildings said.
Following the incident, DOB issued two violations unrelated to the incident—one for failing to safeguard persons and another for for failing to safeguard property during construction, along with floor and perimeter openings, according to the spokeswoman.
While initial reports indicated the worker was injured as a result of falling into 25-foot trench or pit, this was not the case. He was already below street level when the accident occurred.
A Whole Foods spokesman said the supermarket chain, which specializes in natural and organic foods, will not take possession of the site at 238 Bedford Avenue for nearly another year, and declined to provide further comment. Whole Foods is leasing the 40,000-square-foot site from CAB Bedford LLC, which wasn’t immediately reachable for comment.
The number of construction-related deaths dropped in New York City last year, but the number of related accidents and injuries rose, as Commercial Observer previously reported. The number of reported construction-related accidents ticked up 5.7 percent to 186 last year from 176 in 2012 and the number of reported construction-related injuries climbed 4.3 percent to 195 in 2013 from 187 a year prior, DOB data indicate.
Update: This story was edited to clarify the cause of the accident.
