In Yemen Corp. v. 281 Broadway Holdings, 18 NY3d 481, 490-91, 964 N.E.2d 391, 941 N.Y.S.2d 20 (2012) the Court explained that Sec.27-1031(b)(1) of the Administrative Code, the predecessor to the current 3309.4, was a strict liability statute despite the fact that it was a municipal ordinance since its language and purpose was virtually identical to its state law predecessor. "Its original purpose of shifting the risk of injury from the injured landowner to the excavator of adjoining land has remained constant....This section continued to embody the specific legislative policy that in New York City those who undertake excavation work, rather than those whose interest in neighboring land is harmed by it, should bear its costs." (18 NY2d at 491.)