Crane collapse on 91st street and 1st ave., killing at least two people

[Trainspotter]

Crane collapse on 91st street and 1st ave., killing at least two people

DAILY NEWS STAFF

May 30th 2008

 

Warga/News

Debris from the crane collapse littered the streets.

 

A large construction crane has collapsed on the Upper East Side, raining debris onto 91st street and 1st avenue.

 

At least two people - one of them a construction worker - are dead.

 

At approximately 8 a.m., residents heard a loud rumbling. As it fell, the crane ripped several balconies from the side of an adjacent building, 1749 First Avenue. The top floor of a nearby high-rise apartment building has also been damaged.

 

The Fire Department has pulled at least two people out of the wreckage.

 

The building under construction was the Azure, a high-rise at 333 East 91st Street.

 

Since construction ratcheted up in November, the site has been the subject of 23 complaints to the Department of Buildings by neighbors, records show.

 

Last month Regional Scaffolding - one of the contractors working on the notorious Deutsche Bank tower - was cited for operating a crane in an unsafe manner, records show.

 

On April 24, inspectors observed workers hoisting a hoisting a steel box without a permit. All work was stopped.

 

Work was again stopped by the Department of Buildings on May 12 when inspectors discovered work being performed on a standpipe without a permit.

 

Then 10 days ago a caller complained about the crane extending over sidewalk with no barriers to prevent passersby from walking underneath.

 

The week before that on May 13, a caller complained of bricks, sand and wood falling from the site on to the sidewalk and street. Again an inspector found no violations.

 

A Department of Buildings inspector from the crane and derrick unit visited the site and found no violations.

 

The accident happened 2½ months after a crane collapsed, killing seven people about two miles south.

 

In that March 15 accident, contractors building a 46-story condominium near the United Nations were trying to lengthen the crane when a steel support broke. The crane demolished a four-story town house and damaged several other buildings.

 

A city inspector resigned after his arrest on charges of falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing.

 

In April, the city's buildings commissioner resigned, under fire over a rising number of deadly construction accidents.

[metsfan]

These accidents need to stop, even if no one is injured or killed they are an unacceptable waste of city and insurance company money when they damage structures. Not only that, but when one crane fails all the other cranes in the city get a work stop order which puts them behind schedule. People need to stop being sloppy and do the work needed to ensure these large machines are sound and operated well within their design limitations.

 

- Andy

[East New York]

This is like the 4th crane collapse in the last 3 months. (Countrywide)

[KTrainExp]

This is bullshit...we had many last year, this year it needs to stop.

[NewJerseyT]

This is so stupid....does anyone know what kind of crane it was,and don't say a tower crane becasue I already know that lol

And I'm willing to bet if they put 2+2 together they would either find that the cranes were made by the same company,at or around a certain age etc.

And some of the cranes are very old and they are yet still in use.

There is one in New Haven right now doing work building a Cancer center for Yale-New Haven Hospitial I think.However the crane looks brand new and very well maintanied(I.E. no rust spots etc) hell the thing can even be called shiny.And I just watched in amazement from the 7th floor of a car garage of this thing lifting these huge steel looking things above all the other buildings.

I do think that the height of the buildings around the crane do have some sort of affect on it. Since New Haven doesn't have huge towering skyscrapers like New York does it could be safer in repects and not so safe in others.And the same for tower cranes used in New York....

However I think the safest way to do work is to use a crane that is on the GROUND.I know in New York this is near impossible with the traffic flow etc. But how do you think they did it in the old days? The had a crane attached to the building itself,not just anchored to the side of the building...

In New Haven using a crane that is on crawler tracks or even on wheels is very plausible.

Might have to take up a lane or two of traffic however it won't have the same impact it will/would have it they used that in New York.

[m106crosstown]

This is a shame. We should not be afraid to live near a crane. This is 2008, not 1800 (don't ask). This is unacceptable and action needs to be taken now and not just a 10-minute inspection either. Okay so it will stress the inspectors, then hire more inspectors. Something has to be done now or all of the cranes and buildings are going to crash down on us.

[metsfan]

This is so stupid....does anyone know what kind of crane it was,and don't say a tower crane becasue I already know that lol

And I'm willing to bet if they put 2+2 together they would either find that the cranes were made by the same company,at or around a certain age etc.

And some of the cranes are very old and they are yet still in use.

There is one in New Haven right now doing work building a Cancer center for Yale-New Haven Hospitial I think.However the crane looks brand new and very well maintanied(I.E. no rust spots etc) hell the thing can even be called shiny.And I just watched in amazement from the 7th floor of a car garage of this thing lifting these huge steel looking things above all the other buildings.

I do think that the height of the buildings around the crane do have some sort of affect on it. Since New Haven doesn't have huge towering skyscrapers like New York does it could be safer in repects and not so safe in others.And the same for tower cranes used in New York....

However I think the safest way to do work is to use a crane that is on the GROUND.I know in New York this is near impossible with the traffic flow etc. But how do you think they did it in the old days? The had a crane attached to the building itself,not just anchored to the side of the building...

In New Haven using a crane that is on crawler tracks or even on wheels is very plausible.

Might have to take up a lane or two of traffic however it won't have the same impact it will/would have it they used that in New York.

 

 

Increased wind flow in some areas, improperly stabilized ground conditions from prior work before crane went up (sometimes decades earlier), wind load shifting suddenly when crane is near max limits, cables snapping, lifted load shifting its configuration, counterweights improperly placed for the loads being lifted, mechanical & electrical failures in the cab, lift system failure, contact with power cables creating fire or other issue.

 

- Andy

[Pablo M 201]

Its awful these crane accidents are happening more often. And sadly, the city is having a hard time picking out which cranes are in bad shape and whatnot.

[metsfan]

Its awful these crane accidents are happening more often. And sadly, the city is having a hard time picking out which cranes are in bad shape and whatnot.

 

One overloaded lift can ruin an entire tower crane. If the load hangs out there for an extended period of time & wind pushes it around... you can get excessive load bearing fatigue.

 

- Andy

[sebbieprops]

Truly a shame. Sad to hear the news indeed.