David Wichs, 38, was killed by the crane which fell on him while he was standing on the street nearby, according to the Post. New York Fire Department is reporting one person is dead and two are seriously injured.
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De Blasio said pedestrians were cleared from the streets before workers began to lower the crane, averting a potentially greater calamity during the morning rush. “It’s something of a miracle that there was not more of an impact”.
However, Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a 2014 audit that the city Department of Buildings hadn’t fully implemented safety recommendations on cranes and other issues, and Stringer reiterated his concerns Friday.
The crane’s manufacturer required that it be secured when winds reached 25 miles per hour, the mayor said. No workers were injured. Zito and two other workers were asked to come down from the upper floors because of the wind and were making their way down when they stopped to watch the crane being lowered.
“Crane safety is a crisis, but the City has not treated it like one”, Stringer said in a statement. EMS transported a 45-year-old woman with leg injury and head laceration to Beekman Hospital and a 73-year-old man with a head laceration was taken to Bellevue Hospital, police said.
The two deadly crane accidents prompted the resignation of NYC Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, who faced criticism of her department’s handling of construction violations.
Officials said they would discuss the city’s response and recovery actions at a news conference on Saturday at the site of the collapse.
The crane, which toppled at the site of a Long Island City luxury development called Queens West, belonged to James Lomma’s company, which was connected to the 2008 incident mentioned above.
Meanwhile, other city officials joined Stringer in connecting Friday’s crane incident with the city’s broader construction site safety problems.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud boom as the crane came down. The device wasn’t subject to the same regulations and inspections as larger cranes.
Last May, a cable on a construction crane also owned by Bay Crane snapped at a high-rise office building in midtown Manhattan as it lifted an air conditioning unit.
Following the collapse, city officials ordered all cranes, including 43 taller tower cranes, to be secured due to the winds.
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“We want to get all the facts about what happened here” before considering whether any more changes are needed, he added.
