“Given what happened here, it’s extraordinary that there was not more damage, and it’s extraordinary that we did not lose more people”, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference Sunday in which he announced a four-point plan to increase safety when large construction cranes are operating.
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Officials said they recovered the mobile crane’s movement recording computer, which could provide clues – such as the angle of the boom – as to why the crane fell.
Currently, cranes must be in safety mode – a setting that differs from model to model but can include folding over to increase stability – when sustained winds are in excess of 30 miles per hour and gusts are stronger than 45 miles per hour, city officials said. Eyewitness News also learned that memorial plans have been set up for David Wichs, who was killed in the accident.
There will be new restrictions on crawler cranes in the wake of a construction accident that killed a man walking in Manhattan, authorities said.
A funeral was held on Sunday for Wichs, who worked as a financial trader on Wall Street and was remembered as an “extraordinary” and humble man, CBS New York reported. Relatives have said he was born in Prague, moved to the U.S. as a teenager and graduated from Harvard.
City officials say it could take weeks to determine why the crane came crashing down while it was being lowered during strong winds.
The couple lived on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, according to The New York Daily News.
Neighboring residents and business owners will be notified about crane activities, and workers will step up enforcement of pedestrian safety alongside crane sites. They used other cranes to load the pieces onto flatbed trucks.
It could be several days, though, before buildings whose pipes were crushed can have their water restored and before crews can repave the street and sign off on its stability.
Three others were injured by falling debris from the collapse.
A crane collapsed in Manhattan on Friday, Feb. 5, killing 1 person and injuring three others. “We are committed to working with Mayor de Blasio and Department of Buildings Commissioner Chandler to ensure that the highest safety measures are in place at work sites throughout the city”.
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