One person suffered a minor injury, another had a moderate injury, and one had a serious injury, according to the mayor’s office. Because the crane was being lowered, workers were directing pedestrians away from it on a street that otherwise would likely have been teeming with people.
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The crane landed across an intersection and stretched most of the way along a block in the Tribeca neighbourhood, about ten blocks north of the World Trade Center. You could feel the vibration fin the building.
Mayor de Blasio confirmed an order had been given for the city’s 376 mobile cranes and 43 fixed cranes to be locked in a secure position due to high winds.
The crane was being used for work at 60 Hudson St., the former Western Union Building, to replace generators and air conditioner units on the roof, Chandler said.
2012: In April, the upper section of a crane broke off during work on the 7 train extension at 34th Street, killing a construction worker and injuring four other people.
The audit by the Office of New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer examined whether the Department of Buildings had implemented reforms recommended in a $5.8 million study the department had commissioned to improve construction site safety.
Tom Barth, a crane and construction expert often hired to analyze accidents, said in a phone interview that the city’s laws were not the problem.
Part of the city’s construction safety plan will involve a $120 million “modernization” of the buildings department that will include the hiring of 100 new inspectors to inspect high-risk construction sites with greater frequency, a mayor’s spokesman said. Greg Galasso of the Galasso trucking company, responsible for operating the machine, declined to comment.
The incident is the latest in a series involving cranes in New York City.
The collapse left one person dead and three injured.
The street was blocked off for at least 3 blocks and nearby buildings were evacuated.
Video of the crane collapse was captured by a bystander who was working on the 30th floor of a nearby building. It had been inspected as recently as Thursday because the boom was being extended, de Blasio said.
Multiple ambulances and emergency workers raced to the scene and were initially concerned about a potential gas leak and that the crane might be electrified, sources said.
A veteran of construction jobs, he said he did not know why the workers kept it upright during the storm.
The crane appeared to be several hundred feet tall and laid along the street for almost two city blocks.
Varas “heard a big rumble” and had a feeling the crane had fallen, she said.
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The accident occurred near 40 Worth Street in TriBeCa.
