Spectrum News: Scaffold Law reform is on the affordable housing agenda

By: Susan Arebetter

Last week, Capital Tonight spoke with pro-business groups that are laying the groundwork for reform of the 140+ year-old Scaffold Law in New York.

The Scaffold Law is unique because New York is the only state in the nation which holds contractors and property owners to a strict liability standard when it comes to gravity-related injuries.

On Wednesday, Capital Tonight learned that pro-business organizations may have some potent political allies in their quest for reform during the next legislative session: Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has made building housing a centerpiece of several consecutive budget proposals, told an affordable housing advocate that she’s interested in the issue.

For years, critics of the law have argued that the Scaffold Law needs to be reformed because it adds to the costs of construction.

That issue appears to have collided with the state’s urgent need for more affordable housing, something that Carlina Rivera, the president & CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, addressed when she appeared on Capital Tonight on Wednesday.

“We want to take on Scaffold Law reform,” she said. “Labor unions and developers have come together over the past few years to make sure workers feel safe.”

She also said the governor appears willing to take on the issue.

“It seems that Kathy Hochul is on board; I just talked to the governor this morning and she wants to push a housing agenda that is even more aggressive than last term,” Rivera said.

When asked if that agenda would include Scaffold Law reform, Rivera said that the governor has mentioned it.

“We have started the conversation and hopefully we get enough people on board.  I really think we can create a diverse coalition around this,” Rivera said.

“The Governor is always looking for ways to improve how New York builds, but there is no proposal to announce on scaffolding requirements," a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement. "As always, she’ll lay out her policy agenda in January.”

Rivera is in Albany for the New York State Association for Affordable Housing’s annual upstate housing conference.