Site Safety
The city Department of Buildings (DOB) is implementing new safety training procedures for construction workers and supervisors working on large construction projects beginning Dec. 1. Workers are now expected to obtain 30 hours and supervisors are expected to obtain 62 hours of site safety training as required by a 2017 law. This comes a few months after a partial building collapse in Norwood that killed 48- year-old Segundo Huerta, a construction worker at the site on 94 E. 208th Street on Aug. 27. Huerta was on site when the building’s third floor collapsed, crushing and killing him. By September 1, 2020, all workers on major construction sites in New York City to will be required to undergo 40 hours of site safety training.—Michael Turay

Update: 52nd Pct. Shooting
Very little was said about the fatal shooting of a Yonkers man at the last 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting, with local activist Sirio Guerino expressing concerns for the officers involved in the Oct. 17 shooting at Bainbridge Avenue and East 211th Street. While there has not been an official statement from NYPD on their status, fellow officers in attendance reassured the audience that they were “doing fine” and taking a little time off before returning to duty. A lawsuit has now been filed against the NYPD and officers involved in the shooting of Allan Feliz. José A. Giralt

African-American Museum Proposal
A bill introduced by Councilman Fernando Cabrera would create a task force to create a New York City’s first Museum of African-American History. The task force would include the commissioners of the city Department of Cultural Affairs and city Department of Parks, the chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and five members appointed by the mayor and three members appointed by the Speaker of the City Council. Members of several organizations connected to AfricanAmerican heritage and history and culture will also be on the task force. Backers of Cabrera’s bill say the museum would generate revenue, serve as an education institution, and create jobs.—Sha-Nia Alston

Jerome Avenue Apartments
Officials hailed the groundbreaking ceremony for Jerome Avenue Apartments, a new 175-unit supportive housing mixed-use building in Morris Heights, lying at the epicenter of a major rezoning effort by the city. The 16-story complex, complete with a solar rooftop panels, has set aside retail space while providing affordable housing to formerly homeless people and their families, offering supportive housing services. Out of the 175 units, 20 of them will remain permanently affordable. The new housing comes a year and a half following the Jerome Avenue Rezoning, which saw dozens of blocks rezoned to make way for taller housing.—David Cruz

NYPD Top Cop to Retire
Police Commissioner James O’Neill, who had a stint as the executive officer at the 52nd Precinct, announced he will retire from the Police Department to take a job in the private sector. He’ll be replaced by Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea effective Dec. 1. O’Neill spent nearly 37 years as an NYPD officer, first working as a Transit Officer in 1983 before rising to become the 43rd police commissioner for New York City, succeeding Bill Bratton. Shea, who grew up in Queens, has had several stints in the Bronx as commanding officer for the 44th and 50th precincts. At a news conference announcing his ascension, Shea said he looks “forward to working with all New Yorkers to make this great city even safer. It will not be easy.”—David Cruz

Death Certificate Law
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill requiring death certificates in cases related to opioids specifying which opioid was involved in the death. The new law is intended to keep a data trail for officials to better address the opioid crisis. Cuomo said the “common sense law will go [to great lengths] to ensure” there’s greater accuracy in quelling any opioid-related deaths. Prior law did not have a requirement for death certificates to specify which opioid was the case for an overdose.—David Cruz