Immigrant Workers Killed, Cheated at NYC Construction Site
A near-collapse at a Manhattan skyscraper on July 7, 2026 exposed years of ignored safety warnings at one of New York City's biggest construction projects. Behind the crisis is a subcontractor with a long record of worker deaths, safety fines — and a federal lawsuit for stealing wages from immigrant employees. For immigrant construction workers across the city, the story raises an urgent question: do you know your rights?
Years of Warnings Before a Near-Collapse
On July 7, 2026, workers inside 235 East 42nd Street in Manhattan — the former Pfizer corporate headquarters — watched support columns buckle. Debris fell onto the street. Neighboring buildings were evacuated. The 37-story skyscraper was in the middle of the largest office-to-apartment conversion in New York City history, led by developer MetroLoft. But the near-collapse did not come without warning. For years, the subcontractor doing demolition work at the site had a documented record of safety failures, worker deaths, and wage theft targeting immigrant employees.
The subcontractor at the center of the controversy is Northeast Service Interiors LLC, connected through shared ownership, phone number, and address to Northeast Specialist Group LLC and Nordest Services LLC — all based in Maspeth, Queens. Federal court records show all three companies share the same owner, Stephen DeFlorio. New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) records show the city granted Northeast Specialist Group demolition permits for the site in 2024 and 2025. The most recent permit expired June 18, 2026. Since 2015, Northeast has been cited for 146 safety violations and paid $255,000 in penalties, according to reporting by The City Reporter. In 2025, the DOB fined Northeast Specialist Group $10,000 after pieces of the building fell onto a delivery truck because proper protective netting was not installed. In 2020, a Nordest employee was killed when a pressurized fire extinguisher exploded at a Manhattan job site. OSHA issued $20,000 in penalties after that death.
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Immigrant workers have paid a heavy price at Northeast job sites. In 2015, Pedro Basilico, a 26-year-old immigrant from Mexico, was killed when five floors collapsed on him while he worked at a Manhattan luxury hotel conversion for Northeast. In 2019, six immigrant employees filed a federal class action lawsuit against DeFlorio and his three companies for systemic wage theft — the practice of not paying workers what they are legally owed. The case settled out of court, with workers receiving a total of $215,000. In 2013, the New York State Department of Labor found Northeast owed $46,323 in unpaid wages to 10 workers and ordered the company to pay restitution. Mike Vatter, assistant director of organizing for Laborers Local 79, said plainly: "Northeast exploits their workers. They pay them low wages, with multiple issues in the past." A 2026 report by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health found that 81% of New York State construction deaths occurred on non-union job sites.
What to Do If You Are an Immigrant Construction Worker
- Know your wage rights. All workers in the US — regardless of immigration status — have the right to be paid the wages they are owed. If your employer is not paying you correctly, you can file a complaint with the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division or the New York State Department of Labor.
- Report unsafe conditions. You can file a safety complaint with OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) anonymously. Your immigration status does not affect your right to report a dangerous workplace.
- Document everything. Keep records of your hours worked, your pay stubs, and any unsafe conditions you witness. This documentation is critical if you later need to file a complaint or join a lawsuit.
- Contact a workers' rights organization or attorney. If you believe you have been cheated out of wages or injured due to unsafe conditions, lawyers who handle wage theft and workplace injury cases can advise you — often at no upfront cost.
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Immigrant workers — regardless of status — are fully protected by federal and state wage and hour laws, and by OSHA workplace safety regulations. If you were underpaid or injured on the job, you have the right to file a claim, and your employer cannot legally retaliate against you by threatening to report your immigration status. Wage theft cases can often be filed as class actions, which strengthens your position significantly — consult an employment or immigration attorney to understand all your options.