NYC mayor unveils bill to make construction safer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday proposed measures to make construction safer, including bigger fines, improved tracking of contractors across different sites and the power to stop work by faulty companies.

"We will suspend or revoke their ability to do business in New York City," the city's acting building department chief, Robert LiMandri, said at a news conference attended by Bloomberg and other New York City officials.

The independent mayor unveiled the proposals for tougher regulation of construction companies after last week's deadly accident on the Upper East Side, in which a crane smashed into a high-rise apartment building, killing two construction workers.

The East Side of Manhattan was the site of another deadly crane collapse in March.

The city is in the midst of a building boom, with $51 billion of public and private construction projects planned over the next four years, according to a report by a state panel.

"Closing down construction is not an option," Bloomberg said.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)