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Aug 28, 2023

Scaffolding, Fencing To Remain At Roosevelt School As New Year Begins

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Roosevelt Intermediate School facade renovations are continuing as planned, Westfield Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez said on Tuesday night. The project to restore the masonry work

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Roosevelt Intermediate School facade renovations are continuing as planned, Westfield Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez said on Tuesday night.

The project to restore the masonry work on the exterior of the school at 301 Clark St. is being done in phases.

Students and community members entering the building for the first day of school on Sept. 7 will notice scaffolding and fencing on the exterior.

Gonzalez said the scaffolding and fencing will remain for safety reasons.

"If and when the particular side that they are working on is deemed complete and we are able to safely remove the scaffolding and fencing we will. But this is certainly being done in an abundance of caution and for everyone’s safety," said Gonzalez.

Work is expected to continue throughout the school year and into the next summer.

A subcontractor working on the facade project was recently issued a "stop work" order by investigators from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).

The stop-work order was issued on July 20 to Gravity Construction Corp., Jamaica, N.Y., a subcontractor who put up scaffolding for the facade renovations at Roosevelt Intermediate School.

Despite the order, work at the school was not interrupted.

"Work on the Roosevelt facade has not stopped. When the concern regarding wages was brought to our attention after the project began, we investigated and discovered that the concern was directed at the subcontractor who put up the scaffolding," said Gonzalez previously.

"Business Administrator Patricia Ramos has been in direct contact with the New Jersey Department of Labor and the contractor on the project was advised of the concern and the need to correct it moving forward. There is no impact on the progress of the project and there are no anticipated school-related delays," said Gonzalez.

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