FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 29, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Offi cials call for probe into deadly Jamaica construction accident
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
State Senator Jose Peralta and members
of a Jackson Heights nonprofi t are
demanding that the city fi nd out what
went wrong aft er a 34-year-old construction
worker died in Jamaica two weeks ago.
Edgar Pazmino was killed on March 13
aft er he was pinned by a forklift at 152-11
89th Ave. Pazmino, an Ecuadorian immigrant,
was a member of New Immigrant
Community Empowerment (NICE), a
Jackson Heights-based nonprofi t that is
asking New York to better protect construction
workers.
According to reports, Pazmino was
working with another employee to move
a large window with a forklift . Th e forklift
operator dropped the window against
a wall, crushing Pazmino in the process.
Pazmino’s brother-in-law told the Daily
News that he didn’t feel safe on the site.
He is survived by two sisters, who live in
Jamaica.
According to the Department of
Buildings records, a stop-work order was
issued on the site in December 2017.
Th e site also racked up 37 open violations
from the Environmental Control
Board. Th e Chetrit Group is constructing
a four-building residential complex with
324 luxury apartments.
Peralta is calling on the state Senate to
pass Carlos’ Law, which was named aft er
Carlos Moncayo, a migrant worker who
was killed in an accident at a construction
site. Th e legislation would increase fi nes
and penalties when an employer “ignores,
disregards or fails to comply with workplace
safety by protocols or procedures,
and that contributes directly to bodily
injury, serious physical injury or the
death of a worker.”
In the case of Moncayo, who was buried
alive in a 13-foot trench at a construction
site in Manhattan, the general contractor
Harco Construction was not ordered to
pay a fi ne or serve jail time. Instead, they
were told to produce print and television
public service announcements in English
and Spanish to promote worksite safety.
Peralta said Latino workers are “disproportionately
aff ected by accidents in the
workplace” and urged his colleagues to
pass the legislation.
“My heart goes out to the family, friends
and co-workers of Edgar, a hard-working
immigrant who lost his life while working
at a construction site,” he said. “Enough
is enough. We must tackle this epidemic
once and for all. It was troubling to
fi nd out that this particular construction
site is plagued with safety violations, and
that there were several stop work orders
issued. In fact, last September there was
a partial stop work order because a construction
worker fell from the eighth to
the seventh fl oor.”
According to data from the U.S.
Department of Labor, there were 5,190
work-related deaths in 2016, a 7 percent
increase from the 4,836 fatalities in 2015.
“Our community is heartbroken by
Edgar’s death. He will be remembered for
his sense of humor and eagerness to participate,”
said Manuel Castro, executive
director of New Immigrant Community
Empowerment (NICE). “Edgar’s memory
must be honored by ensuring this does
not happen again. His death could have
been avoided.”
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