Crains New York - June 10, 2013 - (Page 10)

OPINION New York’s stupidest law T he scaffold law has been on the books in New York since 1885, and it seems as though businesses have been lamenting it ever since. But lately, this obscure law has morphed from a nuisance into a threat— not just to contractors and property owners, but to taxpayers. The statute, Labor Law 240/241, holds property owners and employers liable for all damages when a worker is injured in a gravity-related accident.This leads to bizarre outcomes. A worker who tumbled from an A-frame ladder that he’d leaned against a wall (rather than opening it as instructed) won $2 million. A town that had a leak inspected was hit with a $30.3 million judgment when the roofer’s worker fell. Only in New York is a worker’s negligence irrelevant, even if his drunkenness or disregard for safety rules led to the injury. As jury awards have escalated and the number of insurers willing to write policies covering falls in New York has dwindled, liability insurance costs have roughly doubled in two years. The law will add perhaps $200 million to the price tag of the new Tappan Zee Bridge. It costs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority money that could otherwise pay for two more subway station rehabs annually, and the city enough to build two or three new schools. Municipalities around the state are similarly cornered. Private project costs are likewise bloated. Smaller contractors—notably women- and minority-owned ones— get shut out of jobs because they can’t afford the insurance. CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL And funding that could be paying construction workers to improve local infrastructure instead goes to attorneys. Defenders of the scaffold law, namely unions and trial lawyers, say it makes job sites safer. Not true. Absolving workers of any responsibility for accidents leads them to take risks and inevitably encourages some to game the system. After Illinois repealed its scaffold law in 1995, construction fatalities plunged and employment increased. The worsening effects of New York’s law have inspired a renewed reform effort by both private- and public-sector stakeholders, who are informing legislators of the cost to taxpayers, mass-transit commuters and businesses. But this is about more than the soaring financial and social damage caused by the law. This is about a fundamental flaw in our justice system. The Legislature can correct it by passing Assemblyman Joseph Morelle’s bill to replace “absolute liability” for owners and employers with a “comparative negligence” standard used in many states when a worker is injured because of his own intoxication, criminality or violation of safety standards. It’s both an economic necessity and a moral one. A simple reform will save money, add jobs and improve safety COMMENTS Why we need the NID istockphoto FUNDING HUDSON RIVER PARK WOULD YOU STAY AT A TOP HOTEL IF IT DIDN’T OFFER ROOM SERVICE? Yes. No one depends on room service anymore. That’s not why I go to luxury hotels. No. Room service is essential. That’s what the luxury hotel experience is about. Date of poll: June 3 360 votes 42% Yes 58% No FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | June 10, 2013 In “Advocates eye levy to save Hudson River Park” ( June 3), a TriBeCa resident is characterized as being “up in arms” about the proposed Hudson River Park neighborhood improvement district, or NID. As members of the NID steering committee, we think ire in the face of the park’s fiscal challenges ignores the real issue: Something needs to be done to guarantee the park’s financial future, and we need to use means that have proved to work. Government built the park, but operations and maintenance are required to be generated by the park itself. As it expands, revenue is falling short. The anti-NID route is a cynical vote for passivity and surrender, which could lead to closure of sections of the park or worse. Through a small assessment, we will generate $10 million annually to help maintain Hudson River Park and serve additional interests of the property owners, businesses and families in the area. The NID will truly be an advocate for its members as well as the park. By any measure, this is a great deal. —scott lawin and melissa pianko Co-chairs Neighborhood improvement district steering committee KEEP CARRIAGE HORSES I run a riding stable in the city. I have personally been involved with finding new homes for carriage horses when their careers in Central Park were ending. The carriage drivers I know care deeply for their horses and do not want to work without them, the same as any other devoted horse people (Editor’s Note, May 27). Tourists seek to step back in time to when Central Park was created. We all have enough cars in our lives these days. What we need are more horses. And what horses need are the humane jobs like pulling a carriage in Central Park so they are not at risk of being unwanted. Horses built our civilization with us. This is their city as much as ours. We cannot abandon them to their fates in the wild because “progress” has made them unnecessary. It is our responsibility to keep them with us wherever our civilization takes us. In exchange, they still have so much to teach us about ourselves. In this case, they can teach us to appreciate the space which is Central Park. It must also be said that the fact that the carriage-horse issue is front-page news in the mayoral election makes me feel as though I have fallen down a rabbit hole. Where is the discussion about the real issues facing this city—like what role super PACs have in our city elections? —walker blankinship President, Kensington Stables at Prospect Park Brooklyn CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. 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All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain Cindi Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - June 10, 2013

SOURCE DINNER
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
DIGITAL NY
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
SMALL BUSINESS
OPINION
STEVE HINDY
GREG DAVID
REPORT: HEALTH CARE
THE LIST
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - June 10, 2013