A construction fence at 311 Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn fell forward and struck two pedestrians at street level, according to a DOB Environmental Control Board violation issued September 23.
The violation says the incident happened during removal of sidewalk-shed wall panels at the site's fourth exposure, when a construction fence panel already in place "failed and fell forward," striking two people on the sidewalk. DOB's inspection afterward also found plywood added to the fence panels exceeding the permitted height for that kind of barrier.
The respondent is Precision Build USA Inc, listed at the Willoughby Avenue address in Brooklyn (11205). DOB classified the violation Class 1 — the agency's most serious tier for a construction violation — and imposed a $10,000 penalty, all of it unpaid as of the violation record. The citation is under Building Code 3301.2 and Administrative Code 27-1009(a), which require a site to safeguard people and property affected by construction operations.
A hearing on the violation is scheduled for December 1, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. before the Environmental Control Board. The violation number is 39559544Z, tied to BIN 4624518. The hearing status is listed as pending; no finding of liability has been made.
DOB's violation record does not name the pedestrians, describe their injuries, or say whether either required hospital treatment. There is no indication in the record of any Local Law 196 site-safety citation tied to this incident, though the underlying demolition permit and any prior violations at this BIN are worth checking against DOB's public buildings information system before this hearing date.
For contractors: this is a Class 1 penalty on a live demolition site, and the fact pattern — a barrier already installed that still failed — is the kind of finding ECB hearing officers weigh heavily when a firm has other open violations. Any GC or subcontractor working sidewalk sheds or perimeter fencing near active demo should treat this as a reminder that added materials (like the extra plywood cited here) can themselves become the violation, independent of whatever failed underneath them.
Next step: firms tracking this site or this respondent can search BIN 4624518 or ECB violation 39559544Z directly in DOB NOW or the DOB Building Information System ahead of the December 1 hearing.