City agencies back mental health and substance-misuse topic for site safety cards, seek code fixes

The Department of Buildings told the New York City Council that it supports Intro 13-84, a bill that would expand the definition of the city’s site safety training (SST) card to require at least two SST credits addressing mental health and wellness, suicide risk and prevention, and alcohol and substance misuse. Guillermo Pacino, deputy commissioner for policy and legal affairs at DOB, said the department has “no objection to incorporating mental health and wellness as well as suicide risk and prevention into the 40 hour course curriculum for site safety training.”

DOB witnesses also described implementation problems they say the legislation could correct. Pacino and Reynaldo Cabrera, assistant commissioner for investigations and compliance, said the code’s current wording can force workers to retake the full 40‑hour course if a printed card cannot be produced before an expiration date. Cabrera, who works with training providers, said delays in provider administration can leave workers unable to obtain printed cards even after completing required refresher credits.

To address those problems, DOB proposed two changes for the council’s consideration: add a grace period following SST card expiration so workers who completed refresher credits before expiration are not required to retake the full course solely because of a printing delay; and recognize the DOB‑approved 40‑hour site safety course as a qualification pathway for the SST card alongside OSHA pathways.

Pacino described the current certification rules: “Site safety training cards, once issued, are valid for 5 years and can be renewed contingent upon successful completion of the required refresher training within the 1 year preceding submission of a renewal application.” He added the department has received “significant feedback from the industry regarding the challenges” caused by the code’s rigidity.

Contractors and building trade representatives who testified expressed support for the training expansion. Samuel Ludo of the Building Trade Employers Association told the committees the industry has been “directly affected by the mental health and substance abuse crisis” and supports adding the curriculum to the SST framework because SST cards are “required for the vast majority of construction workers.”

The committees did not take a vote on the measure at the hearing. DOB said it will provide additional technical proposals to the council to ensure the bill’s language addresses the identified implementation issues.