Construction Work Continues Amidst Covid

Even as much of the city’s economy has ground to a halt amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, construction workers are still donning their hardhats every morning and heading out to New Haven’s many construction sites — which busy city developers are furnishing with extra hand sanitizer, social distancing mandates, and more frequent porta potty cleanings.

Gov. Ned Lamont and the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) have designated general construction workers, as well as skilled tradespeople like plumbers, electricians, and HVAC workers, as ​“essential” employees allowed to continue their work even as state emergency orders shutter broad swaths of Connecticut’s economy.

That means several construction sites around the city, which was in the midst of a years’-long building boom of primarily market-rate apartments when the novel coronavirus outbreak hit, continue to bustle with excavators digging in the shadow of large piles of dirt.

In New York City, construction workers have spoken about how typically dangerous and dirty work has become potentially life-threatening during this public health crisis as dozens of employees share a single on-site porta potty, crowd into close quarters, have little access to soap and water — all in the service of building luxury apartments.

Nancy Steffens, a retired Connecticut Department of Labor communications staffer who is back working with the department during the current labor crunch, said that the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CONN-OSHA) unit as well as its Wage and Workplace Standards unit have not received any complaints or inquiries from Connecticut construction workers about unsanitary workplace conditions during this public health crisis.

“Our CONN-OSHA unit always offers an employer consultation service for employers that want to keep their employees safe, and we are looking at offering that service in the future using technology such as Zoom,” she wrote. ​“For now, employers or employees with concerns or questions about safety can contact CONN-OSHA at 860 – 263-6900.”

She added that CONN-OSHA has not received any specific guidance from federal OSHA regarding how best to ensure worker safety at construction sites. She said the state Department of Public Health is currently working on developing such guidelines.

“Everyone Understands The Severity Of This”

Stamford-based developer Randy Salvatore of RMS Companies said that he has tried to get ahead of any safety concerns at his company’s various construction sites in the Hill by providing plenty of hand sanitizer onsite, tripling the cleaning of on-site porta potties, and having cleaning staff regularly wiping down all frequently touched services over the course of a day.

“Every other night we’re having a cleaning crew come in and spray down all of the touched services,” he told the Independent on Friday.

Salvatore’s development company is currently in the process of building nearly 200 new apartments in two different six-story buildings at 216 Congress Ave. and at 222, 234 and 246 Lafayette St. as part of Phase 2 of the Hill-to-Downtown redevelopment plan. His company is also slated to build another 223 apartments in a six-story building at the intersection of Tower Lane and Church Street South as part of Phase 3 of that project.

He said project managers at the various Hill construction sites have been instructed to communicate by phone, email, and through sharing photographs to the greatest extent possible, rather than through in-person meetings.

“For the most part, from what I’ve seen, everyone understands the severity of this,” he said. ​“The majority of people are wearing masks. Almost everyone is wearing gloves. People are maintaining six-foot separations.” And his managers are strongly encouraging workers not to work side by side.

“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going to happen in a week or two weeks,” he said. He said he plans to keep his eye on local, state, and federal public health guidelines as the pandemic continues to see what kind of further changes he might have to implement at his company’s construction sites.

“Obviously we’ll follow any orders and we’ll adjust accordingly.”

On the property management side of his work, he said that his company has begun showing rooms at finished apartment buildings virtually through ​“video tours.” He said his company has already rented 15 different apartments through such a virtual showing, without the tenants first visiting the actual space before agreeing to sign the lease.

“With technology today, we can show” these rooms even without people physically being in the same room.

“Emphasizing Hygiene”

Cambridge Realty Partners’ Nick Falker (pictured at right) told the Independent that his company has also been looking to best practices used by commercial property management companies around the country as well as federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines as they adapt their work site at 104 Howe St. to be a safe one for construction workers during public health crisis.

Falker’s company is in the process of building a new six-story, 44-unit apartment complex atop a current surface parking lot at 104 Howe.

“We’re emphasizing hygiene, including and especially washing hands frequently and social distancing, plus covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze and cough and using masks when appropriate,” he said.

Falker said that four construction workers are currently working at the Howe Street site on a daily basis.

He said they’ve been provided with soap and water, personal protective equipment, and on-site trash cans to allow for disposal of sullied tissues.

Falker added that density won’t be a problem at this site for the foreseeable future. ​“We’re not going to go vertical with the building for a handful of months,” he said, meaning that a relatively few number of construction workers will be on the site in the months ahead.

“Less Chaotic And More Normal”

On Friday, two employees of Sunderland Electric took a 10-minute smoke break as the team was working on the upcoming two apartment complexes at the triangular parcel bordered by Congress and Washington avenues at the intersection of Lafayette Street.

One worker, Mike, and the other, who asked asking to remain anonymous, said they aren’t too concerned about Covid-19 affecting them on the job. They have noticed their colleagues taking extra precautions, particularly around personal hygiene.

The two said that in the past few weeks people have been taking the hand soap and sanitizer from the portable toilets.

Mike said he doesn’t have many concerns while at work because the site has been provided with a Purell hand sanitizer machine for workers. The bulk of their daily work is outdoors and not in a shared or enclosed space.

Mike said his work is the only time of the day that he’s able to leave his house and get a breath of fresh air.

“Getting out and still working makes it seem less chaotic and more normal,” he said.

Mike’s colleague said that other companies and towns have changed construction work to only three days a week while still offering a regular week’s pay.

“I would imagine other companies are struggling to place orders with some supply houses closing,” he added.

In an unexpected benefit from the pandemic, the two construction workers said that they are now able to park in the Yale University parking lot on Lafayette Street (Lot 99). The two workers said before Covid-19 hit New Haven, the lot would be filled by Yale employees before their day of construction started.

“Now we have a place to park,” Mike said.