Sarwar Construction, a Brooklyn-based construction company, has been fined $7,450 by OSHA (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration), following the death of employee Mohammad Nadeem who fell from scaffolding on Dec. 7 last year while working on a Bedford Park apartment building.

As the Norwood News previously reported at the time, Nadeem, 29, fell five stories onto concrete while replacing brickwork above a window inside the courtyard area of 2985 Botanical Square, owned by the Pinnacle Group, a controversial landlord the Norwood News has reported on for several months. Nadeem was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital. A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s office gave the cause of death as blood trauma to the head and neck.

Following a five-month investigation, OSHA, which investigates all workplace fatalities, cited Sarwar Construction for failing to provide its workers with safety equipment to protect against falls. Specifically, no guardrail, safety net, or personal fall arrest systems were in place, the agency said, and no training had been given to workers on how to use this equipment and the importance of its implementation. The company was fined $7,000, the maximum penalty for this type of offense, and another $450 for failing to keep the work area clear of debris.

Nadeem had been standing on makeshift scaffolding, police had said at the time, and OSHA confirmed this. Workers were standing on planks set up on fire escapes, investigators concluded.

John Chavez, an OSHA spokesperson, said that by fining Sarwar Construction, OSHA was sending a message that dangerous working conditions won’t be tolerated. “The law requires that employers provide a safe working place,” he said. “This is what we are trying to get into employers’ heads. There are no excuses for not looking after employees’ safety.”

According to Chavez, OSHA sent Sarwar Construction a letter on May 10 informing them of the fine. It was returned unopened, however, and so OSHA staff tracked down the company’s president, Ghulam Sarwar, in person. On June 15, he appealed and the case is currently with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The Norwood News attempted to contact Sarwar last week but was told he was in the hospital.

Many tenants have complained of shoddy construction work in Pinnacle buildings and that the company does not obtain proper permits for its work.

Asked for comment, the Pinnacle Group released the following statement: “Pinnacle has not used Sarwar on any of its properties since the tragic incident last year.”