Results tagged “crane”

The crane accident that went down at 775 Columbus Avenue yesterday afternoon is going to cost a pretty penny for some involved. The Real Deal reports that "the general contractor, crane owner and operator at Columbus Square face fines of up to $25,000 after a piece of a crane crushed a sidewalk covering."

Everything's fine! However, earlier this afternoon a crane struck a piece of scaffolding at an Upper West Side rental building that is under construction. The location was 775 Columbus Avenue, part of the new Columbus Square complex, and the Real Deal is reporting there are no injuries, "but emergency personnel were on the scene, making sure the crane was secure. It was not clear at press time what caused the collision."

A year ago yesterday, a crane collapsed at an Upper East Side construction site at 91st Street and First Avenue. Two people were killed and it turned out the crane had been damaged from a 2007 lightning strike (the New York Crane Company had it fixed with welding). Now the Daily News reports that the Chinese company that did the welding wasn't confident of its abilities "but relented after New York Crane coughed up more money." RTR Bearings told New York Crane its welding technique "is not good" and a testing firm found (a month before the crane collapse) that RTR's work on another piece of New York Crane equipment was "unacceptable." The News also found memos showing an Ohio firm saying it could weld the crane in 28 weeks for $120,000, while "RTR said it could do the work in 80 to 90 days for just $21,710." RTR ultimately "repaired" the crane and New York Crane apparently didn't re-inspect it, simply put it to work at the UES site.

A year ago, a Midtown condo construction site's crane fell into neighboring buildings on East 50th Street near 2nd Avenue. Aside from damaging neighboring buildings and leveling a townhouse, seven people—six construction workers and one woman in the townhouse—were killed. Neighbors had complained about the construction, but the incident further forced the Department of Buildings to monitor cranes more carefully (another crane killed two just two months later). Last week, the DOB released findings from its investigation: Ultimately, four synthetic slings—including one that had prior physical damage—used to support a 11,279-pound steel collar (eight slings are usually used) were blamed, from how they were placed to how there was no padding to protect the slings from sharp edges. Earlier this year, the Manhattan DA's office charged the crane rigger with manslaughter.

Updated: The Port Authority tell us that the construction worker was not pinned by a collapsed crane, as previously reported: "A crane maintenance worker fell 3 feet off a crane while doing routine maintenance at 7 a.m. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. Vincent's as a precaution." His injury is "not believed to be life-threatening." Last week, it as revealed that the Port Authority had to pay another $64 million in fines to WTC developer Larry Silverstein, for delays in turning over the site.

Get ready for some high-profile headlines to be ripped from the papers for Law & Order, starting with tonight's episode about a crane accident. According to the Post, L&O doesn't really deal with "this city's crooked contractors and their shoddy half-built nightmares, sleazy inspectors and falling cranes," it just begins with a crane accident and then the investigation goes in another direction. Meanwhile, over on Page Six there's talk of (sigh) a Heath Ledger-esque Law & Order. They report that the plot "is 'supposed to be about Heath Ledger' and features a male supermodel, played by Ryan Locke, who 'has a great career and gets all the ladies.' Perhaps the eeriest comparison is to Ledger's actual death by overdose when the character 'leaves a club with a girl. They have sex and do drugs, and the next morning, his friend finds him dead.'" Next up: Joshua Walter and Gina Salamino?

That unusual occurrence on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge we mentioned this morning? It turns out a crane hit the bottom of the bridge. WABC 7 reports that a passing ship's crane was the culprit, hitting the 125-year-old structure around 7:30 a.m.: "the crane left debris on the bottom of the bridge, but did not appear to cause any damage to the structure." The Department of Transportation is checking the bridge to make sure--and we're curious if the ship was fine. No one goes around hurting the Brooklyn Bridge!

The Department of Buildings suspended Michael Carbone, a senior DOB crane inspector, for "neglect of duty." The Post actually contacted the DOB, noting he "had cleared several complaints last year that claimed unqualified operators were working in the industry and that some of their licenses were fraudulent." In fact, a caller or callers kept complaining about crane operators not having licenses or obtaining them fraudulently. Last month, a top DOB official was arrested for giving crane operator test answers to crane companies in advance.

Today was going to Janine Belcastro and Donald Leo's wedding day. But Leo, a crane operator, died in last month's crane collapse on the Upper East Side. The Daily News says Belcastro's sister and friend have taken her on a trip this weekend. A friend said, "She's still too upset. It's still too much for her."

The Department of Buildings confirmed to the Daily News that it found cracks in a crane at a construction site in lower Manhattan. The crane happens to be a Kodiak tower crane owned by New York Crane & Equipment Co.--the same model and firm involved last month's fatal crane collapse at East 91st Street and First Avenue.

An insurance company executive, whose client owned the crane had once been repaired before collapsing on East 91st Street last Friday, said the Department of Buildings knew the crane's history. NationalBuilders Insurance Services executive vice president Kevin Cunningham said, "The DOB inspector certified that it was OK to go back to work."

The Building Department allowed "most" crane operations across the city to resume as the investigation into what caused Friday's fatal crane collapse at East 91st Street continues.

Yesterday, at a luxury condominium construction site, a crane collapsed at East 91st Street and First Avenue, damaging a building across the street and killing two workers. Though this was the second crane collapse in two months, city officials do not believe the circumstances were similar to th March 15 incident where a condominium construction crane collapsed into buildings, killing seven people. In fact, the DOB believes a weld in the crane is what failed.

            

A crane collapsed at 1st Avenue and 91st Street on the Upper East Side around 8:15 a.m. According to initial reports, there are people trapped inside. There is wreckage on 91st Street, with FDNY and other emergency responder going through the rubble. The crane was located at a new construction site.

Tomorrow marks the start of Construction Safety Week in New York City, less than a week after Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster resigned her position at the Dept. of Buildings. Lancaster admitted to the City Council that the plans for a 43 story tower in Turtle Bay, Manhattan did not meet zoning regulations but were approved anyway.

During a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said, "I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance. Whether somebody could have done a better job — I’m trying to — whether they could have done a better job I just don’t know."

Two cats living in an apartment completely destroyed by the Midtown crane collapse have been found and reunited with their owners. The recovery of Mr. Gloves and Gooksie was in no small part due to the efforts of Gini Otway, a neighbor who also volunteers at the animal rescue and adoption organization City Critters.

In an attempt to prevent another deadly crane accident, the city's Department of Buildings announced changes yesterday to keep construction "sites safe." The agency laid out several new regulations requiring oversight by city inspectors or a project engineer. Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster said that the new rules are "something that should have been happening" before.

The crane collapse last week that killed seven people showed just how weak the enforcement of safety rules and building codes are in New York City. In addition to the inspector who was arrested for faking a report on the inspection of the crane that collapsed on the East Side, engineer Jose Vargas was arraigned this month for failing to complete a final inspection on a discount store in the Bronx. The building collapsed unexpectedly during a fire in 2006, killing two firefighters. The Buildings Dept. is conducting a review of 29 other buildings that Vargas never signed off on.

Rescue crews have recovered the bodies of three people missing since Saturday's fatal crane collapse from a construction site at 303 East 51st Street onto other buildings on East 51st and East 50th Streets. These three victims were two construction workers and one woman who had been visiting a friend for St. Patrick's Day. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had told reporters yesterday, “We’re still calling it a search operation, though with each passing hour, things are getting more grim."

The architect who was in the construction site trailer crushed by 14,000 pounds of steel that fell 25 stories from a crane may never walk again. Doctors believe Robert Woo was likely paralyzed; his mother said, "He might not walk again...I've been telling him he's lucky to be alive." It is amazing Woo is alive - seeing photographs of the site, it's incredible he survived - but given the amount of construction and development ongoing in the city, we're alarmed as well.

Architect Robert Woo is hospitalized but in stable condition today after the construction trailer he was working in was crushed by a load of falling steel that a crane dropped. The crane was elevating the steel at the site of the new Goldman Sachs building at the World Trade Center. The accident occurred yesterday morning when a nylon sling snapped and seven tons of steel fell 25 stories. Woo was the only person injured in the incident at 200 Vesey St. He was pulled from the wrecked trailer dazed and bleeding from his mouth.