
Crane Collapses on Upper East Side
NEW YORK CITY-A crane collapsed just after 8:00 a.m. at a construction site near 91st Street and First Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side, according to witnesses and officials. At least two people have died from the incident, according to local news reports.
The collapse occurred two months after a tower crane collapsed on 51st Street between Second and First avenues, killing seven people. The New York Fire Department said that it has pulled people from the wreckage, but their conditions were not immediately known.
According to published reports, the building under construction at the site is the
Azure, a 245,000-sf building being constructed at 333 East 91st St. between First and Second avenues by the DeMatteis Organizations and the Mattone Group.
The top floor of a nearby high-rise apartment building had been damaged. A resident at the 23-story Electra, at 354 E. 91st St., tells GlobeSt.com that the crane collapsed into his building, and mostly damaged the top floor, where the administration office is. He explained that there was some flooding on the 4th floor, and the crane tore off a 19th floor balcony. "Last week, Thursday I believe, there was a 40-foot extension added to the crane. They wouldn't let us leave the building," he explains. "As of now, we are told we are not allowed back in the building."
The cause of today's crane collapse has yet to be determined, but clearly,
construction safety is still a
concern. In April, the city’s buildings commissioner,
Patricia Lancaster, was forced out of her job and an extensive review of the city’s cranes was conducted in the aftermath of that March accident.
Source: GlobeSt.com