Res. No. 1138 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York to conduct a hearing on the collapse of the building under construction at 54 - 58 Middleton Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and the actions of the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department with regard to construction safety. Body By Council Members Robles, Freed and Abel; also Council Members Fisher, Foster, Harrison, Rivera and Robinson Whereas, On November 23, 1999, a floor in an apartment building under construction, 54 - 58 Middleton Street at the corner of Lee Avenue in Williamsburg, buckled and collapsed under the weight of freshly poured cement, burying 13 workers in wet cement, concrete blocks and twisted metal beams; and Whereas, In August of this year, four men were injured when workers overstacked bricks on a floor being repaired in the building at the work site; and Whereas, When interviewed by reporters after the November collapse, one worker said he complained the prior week to one of the developers that the roof structure was not properly supported, but was told to drop the issue; and Whereas, The problems at the Middleton Street site were not the first for Industrial Enterprises, a Williamsburg-based company which in 1996 was cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for six serious safety violations on another project; and Whereas, Daniel Eduardo 22, a Mexican immigrant who lived in Brooklyn was killed in the deadly collapse when he was covered with concrete and suffocated when he couldn't get up in time; and Whereas, In addition, eleven other workers were injured in the collapse, many of whom were picked for the $70 a day job before dawn on a Brooklyn street corner; and Whereas, The Department of Buildings is the City agency charged with primary responsible for enforcing safety standards in building construction; and Whereas, According to the Daily News, December 8, 1999, Fire Department officials sent to the Department of Buildings information warning about construction techniques that appear similar to those involved in the November 23rd collapse and the Department of Buildings seems not to have responded appropriately to the information presented by the Fire Department; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York conduct a hearing on the collapse of the building under construction at 54 - 58 Middleton Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and the actions of the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department with regard to construction safety. Referred to the Committee on Housing and Buildings.