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A construction worker died after falling 18 feet from a building platform Wednesday morning.
Jose Cruz, 59, was removing part of a steel deck from a slab at 1604 Broadway in Times Square when he plunged to the ground, the New York Daily News reports.
"We think it was completely preventable," New York City buildings commissioner Rick Chandler said at a press conference at the site.
Cruz did not have tie-offs on his personal protection equipment, which could have saved his life, Chandler said.
The Department of Buildings stapled a stop work order to the front of 1604 Broadway as Chandler held the press conference.
Chandler vowed to ramp up safety inspections at building sites around the city and he is investigating if the site had a building superintendent.
Streamline USA is the general contractor at 1604 Broadway. In March 2016, the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration fined Streamline USA almost $20K for unsafe working conditions at the site. The contractor contested the fines.
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