School Rules

The construction industry is experiencing an overall deteriorationin quality of work, with master builders dying out and more people working without proper educational and safety training. That's whatVincent Battista says, whom we caught up with recently at theInstitute of Design and Construction's Brooklyn campus, which he leads as president. New York has been developing so fast over the past two years that equipment has gone from site to site withoutsequential inspections, and workers find themselves in dangerous situations without the skills to get through them. Although the City has responded with new training and safety initiatives, many were implemented after unfortunate events.
“When there's a boom, a worker's mentality has been, ‘Why should I go to school?'” Vincent says. In turn, he's been trying to impress upon the industry that education is an investment for all workers, and they only need to attend relevant training and classes. Foremployers, it's a small amount of money, but the payback in the end is greater because workers are smarter and safer. If you listen closely, the Moses statue in the school lobby is saying, “Let your people go!”

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Denver Public Schools' $11M Centennial Hall Purchase Marks Rare Land Sale For ULC

COPA Passes City Council, Heads To Mamdani's Desk

SL Green's $2.5B Sell-Off Hits Interest Rate Snag

Brandywine Plans To Sell $200M Worth Of Properties In 2027

Why A 'Not My Job' Mentality Can Derail A Construction Project

Pennsylvania Reveals Draft Map Of Areas To Benefit From Opportunity Zones 2.0

Cresa Taps Nathan Knowles As Atlanta Market Leader

Developer Of $3.8B Atlanta Project Discloses $19M Accounting Error

Inter Miami Stadium Subcontractors Sue Over Millions In Unpaid Work

Meet The Women Pushing Boundaries In UK Development

Related Lands $750M Loan To Keep 'Broadway's Bedroom' Affordable: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Elecor, Formerly Paramount Group, Gains New Muscle With Rithm In Its Corner