Int 0098-1998

Be it enacted as follows: Section 1. Section 26-172 of the administrative code of the city of New York is hereby amended to read as follows: �26-172 Requirements of license; certificate of fitness. a. It shall be unlawful to hoist or lower any article on the outside of any building in the city of New York on and after December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, unless such work is performed by or under the supervision of a person licensed as a rigger under the provisions of this article, or a person qualified or licensed as a rigger prior to such date as provided in section 26-131 of this subchapter. The provisions of this article shall apply to the erection or dismantling of a tower crane or a climber crane on a building and to the use of a derrick in their removal, except that such erection or dismantling may be performed by or under the direct supervision of a person licensed by the city for such purpose in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. b. It shall be unlawful for an individual to work on a suspended scaffold or boatswain chair on the outside of a building, unless such individual has been issued a certificate of fitness under the provisions of this article. In the event that the presence of two individuals is required for the operation of a two point suspended scaffold (swing staging), one of such individuals may be a trainee or apprentice in a training program approved by the commissioner. �2. Section 26-173 of such code is amended to read as follows: �26-173 Exemptions. [The] Except for the requirements of subdivision b of section 26-172, the provisions of this article shall not apply to the hoisting or lowering of signs if the person so doing possesses a license as a sign hanger, as provided in article seven of this subchapter, or to the hoisting or lowering of any building materials or equipment, other than boilers and tanks, in the course of the construction or alteration of any building structure. �3. Article six of subchapter two of chapter one of title 26 of such code is amended by adding thereto a new section 26-177.1 to follow 26-177, to read as follows: �26-177.1 Certificate of fitness. a. The commissioner shall issue a certificate of fitness to an individual who has successfully completed a training program which is approved by the commissioner. The program shall include rigging and work practices for suspended scaffolds and boatswain chairs, both manual and power driven, and safety procedures, practices and techniques for the protection of the public. b. The commissioner shall issue a certificate of fitness to an individual: (1) who within the last ten years prior to the effective date of this section successfully completed a training program which is approved by the commissioner; or (2) who within one year following the effective date of this section shall have passed a qualifying examination given by the city; or (3) who on the effective date of this section shall have been employed for at least ten years of the immediate fifteen years prior to such effective date by a licensed special rigger, a master rigger, licensed special sign hanger or master sign hanger and who has presented satisfactory proof of such employment to the commissioner within one year following the effective date of this section. c. The commissioner, after due notice and a hearing before the office of administrative trials and hearings, pursuant to section one thousand forty-eight of the charter and rules established thereunder, shall have the power to revoke, suspend or limit the certification of any person upon a finding that such person has willfully or negligently violated the rules of the department. d. The fee for obtainining a certificate shall be fifty dollars and the annual renewal fee to maintain the certificate shall be thirty dollars. e. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article with respect to the certificate of fitness shall be subject to the provisions of section 26-140. �4. This local law shall take effect one year following enactment thereof. Referred to the Committee on Housing and Building.