How Much Are Construction Deaths Worth?

I've found myself disturbed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Building Commissioner Patricia Lancaster's smooth reactions to the deaths caused by the East Side Manhattan crane accident of this past weekend.

The death toll from the accident, in which a huge crane plummeted to the ground and sliced through several buildings, demolishing one, had risen from four to seven yesterday. The additional victims were Santino Gallone and Clifford Canzona, and Odin Torres, who lived in South Florida and was visiting for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
The other victims were Wayne Bleidner, 51, of Pelham, N.Y., the crane’s operator; Anthony C. Mazza, 40, a rigger, of Staten Island; and Brad Cohen, a rigger; and Aaron Stephens. A nylon sling, perhaps dangerously overloaded, is now suspected as the cause of the disaster.

Our City's leader's reaction? Mumblings about how it's tragic, that accidents will happen and construction is a dangerous job. Virtually no intimation that someone, or some department or some system is at fault here. Just lame comments on how investigations are continuing. It's as if Bloomberg were talking about a tornado that ripped through town, not a catastrophe brought on by his heedless advocacy of heedless overdevelopment. This was not a freak accident, as City Hall is characterizing it. It was an inevitability.

If a New York City police officer caused the unwarranted death of a citizen, there would be hue and cry, protests, raging editorials, and politicians on the ropes. Why are these deaths—also caused by the deficient performance of a City-employed official (Lancaster and her criminally ineffective department)—any different? Why are construction deaths shrugged off by City Hall as part and parcel with the the business of running the City? The victims are hardly mentioned and never lamented, aside from pat comments that Mike's and Patty's thoughts are with the families. How does Lancaster imagine she is being respectful of these families' great losses by steadfastly remaining in her post?

The Daily Kos suggests that Bloomberg should attend each funeral and I see nothing amiss in that proposal. The deaths are ultimately the result of his policies. (The way many construction workers gathered to pay their respects to their fallen colleagues reminded me of the way policemen and firemen show similar respect for those in their ranks who have died in the line of duty.)

"That crane came within feet of taking out a 12-story building full of people," one fire commander told The Daily News. Would Bloomberg and Lancaster be more contrite if dozens of people had died instead of "just" seven? Would they change course in their attitude toward rampant construction and City Hall's big bear hug of all developers? Would anything cause Bloomberg to change course? Or is he as blinkered, closed-off and pig-headed as our President?

In a column in the New York Post, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer compared the accident to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a bellwether of the last century the brought on sweeping changes in corrupy citywide labor laws. He invoked the disaster as a way of indicating that vast changes at the DOB are called for in the wake of the crane accident. Will such changes occur? Sadly, tragically, criminally, another crane accident is probably more likely.