Construction workers across Brooklyn are waking up to a new rule this month. As of May 3, 2026, New York City’s Local Law 10 of 2026 took effect — and it changes what safety training is required before you can legally step onto a construction site in the five boroughs. If you or anyone in your household works in construction, this is information worth understanding now, not when a card expires.
Brooklyn is home to one of the most active construction markets in the city, from the continued buildout of Greenpoint and Williamsburg to Atlantic Yards phases, Red Hook infrastructure projects, and countless mid-scale residential developments across Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, and beyond. Tens of thousands of construction workers commute into and across the borough every day. Local Law 10 affects all of them.
What Is Local Law 10 and Why Does It Exist?
New York City’s Site Safety Training (SST) program requires construction workers to hold a valid SST card to work on most covered construction sites. Those cards require completion of specific safety courses. Local Law 10 updates what those courses must cover.
The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. It also struggles with alcohol and substance misuse. The old 2-Hour Drug and Alcohol Awareness course addressed the substance side — but mental health and suicide prevention received no dedicated training time. Local Law 10 changes that. Starting August 1, 2026, the 2-Hour Drug and Alcohol Awareness course will be permanently replaced by a new 2-Hour Mental Health Awareness course covering mental health and wellness, suicide risk, and prevention strategies.
During the transition period — May 3 through August 1, 2026 — course providers may offer either the old or the new course, and either counts for credit. After August 1, only the Mental Health Awareness course satisfies the requirement.
What Workers Need to Know Right Now
If you hold an active SST card, you do not need to retake any course immediately. The mental health training requirement kicks in when it’s time to renew.
If your SST card expires on or after May 3, 2026, you now have a one-year grace period after expiration to complete refresher courses and renew. This is a new provision introduced by LL10. However — and this is critical — you cannot use an expired SST card on a worksite during the grace period, even if you’re within the one-year window. Your card will show as expired on the Training Connect app until renewal is complete.
If your SST card expired before May 3, 2026, the grace period does not apply to you. You must apply for a new SST card from scratch.
Local Law 10 also adds one more change: starting May 3, the 40-Hour Site Safety course is now counted as equivalent to the OSHA 30-Hour course for SST card credit. Both have a 5-year lookback period for new card issuance.
For Employers and Contractors in Brooklyn
If you’re managing a construction crew or running a contracting business in Brooklyn, you have until August 1 to ensure your workers are taking updated course materials. Course providers approved for the old Drug and Alcohol course have 90 days from May 3 — until approximately August 1 — to develop and begin offering the new Mental Health Awareness course. The NYC Department of Buildings is not providing course materials; providers must develop compliant curriculum on their own.
Site safety managers and general contractors should also note that checking the Training Connect app is the definitive way to verify an employee’s card status. During the grace period window, cards will appear expired until renewed — so the app status alone tells you whether someone can legally work on your site that day.
The Bigger Picture
The construction industry accounts for roughly 20% of all worker suicides nationally, despite representing a smaller share of the workforce. Organizations that have tracked this for years have pushed for mandatory mental health training in safety programs for over a decade. New York City is now one of the few jurisdictions in the country to make it a legal requirement at the site level.
For Brooklyn’s construction workers — many of whom are immigrants, day laborers, or gig workers with limited access to employer-sponsored mental health resources — having basic awareness training built into the licensing requirement is a meaningful, if modest, step.
What You Need to Know
- Effective date: May 3, 2026 (Local Law 10 of 2026)
- 2-Hour Drug and Alcohol Awareness course is being replaced by a 2-Hour Mental Health Awareness course
- Transition period: both courses accepted May 3 – August 1, 2026
- After August 1, 2026: only the Mental Health Awareness course qualifies
- Active SST cardholders do not need to act immediately
- Cards expiring on/after May 3, 2026 get a 1-year grace period for renewal — but the card cannot be used on-site while expired
- Cards expired before May 3, 2026: no grace period, must apply for a new card
- The 40-Hour Site Safety course is now equivalent to OSHA 30 for SST credit
- Source: NYC Department of Buildings — Local Law 10 FAQs
For more on how city government regulations are shaping life in the boroughs right now, see our guide to how NYC 311 routes complaints — including construction noise, which picks up significantly in warmer months.
