Construction Crane Collapses in New York City, at Least Two Dead

[Dixie*Darling]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360443,00.html

NEW YORK —  DEVELOPING STORY:

A construction crane has collapsed on New York's Upper East Side, killing at least two people and critically wounding at least one as firefighters and rescue workers continued to comb through the wreckage for more possible victims.


More at the link.

[Wretched Excess]

again?  didn't that happen in NY a couple of months ago?

[Dixie*Darling]

again?  didn't that happen in NY a couple of months ago?

They've expanded the article now.

The accident happened 2 1/2 months after another 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.

[Wretched Excess]

again?  didn't that happen in NY a couple of months ago?

They've expanded the article now.

The accident happened 2 1/2 months after another 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.

it looks like that one building inspector wasn't the (entire) problem . . .

[Lord Undies]

Sad news indeed.  Construction cranes are a necessary evil and perilous by nature.  I suppose we are lucky scenes like this are still rare.  God bless the dead and injured.

I was going to add something tacky about unions, but I'll save it for another day.

[Lauri]

my husband has a view of about seven cranes out his office window in Redmond .... while Bellevue, Wa has the most cranes in use in the US right now... pretty wild to see on a daily basis, for months at a time. here's a pic of them all ..

http://localism.com/article/123702/Erector-Set-City-The-Tower-Cranes


they did have one collapse last year and it killed one man and severely damaged the condo building .. and that was also an issue with the certifier; they didnt check their cranes to make sure of stress fractures and such.

[Lauri]

my husband has a view of about seven cranes out his office window in Redmond .... while Bellevue, Wa has the most cranes in use in the US right now... pretty wild to see on a daily basis, for months at a time. here's a pic of them all ..

http://localism.com/article/123702/Erector-Set-City-The-Tower-Cranes


they did have one collapse last year and it killed one man and severely damaged the condo building .. and that was also an issue with the certifier; they didnt check their cranes to make sure of stress fractures and such.

reading thru a story on the cranes, i found this little nugget..

"A healthy economy, hot job market and new construction are making Bellevue a major urban destination," notes Mike Brennan, deputy director of Development Services.  "But that kind of transformation can't happen without some inconvenience in the process. We're asking people to be patient while Bellevue goes through this growth spurt."             

To keep up with builders, the city has added staff and hired consultants to handle the 13,800 permits and almost 60,000 inspections needed at this time.

so, somewhere in this country there is a healthy economy? who knew!

[Wretched Excess]

[Bluesuiter-Retired]

A major contributing factor to all of these accidents involving cranes is they are in too big a hurry to build.

Inspectors are being bribed to turn a blind eye to contractors taking shortcuts to save time the project is taking, ensuring a bonus for completing the job ahead of schedule.

[Chris_]

A major contributing factor to all of these accidents involving cranes is they are in too big a hurry to build.

Inspectors are being bribed to turn a blind eye to contractors taking shortcuts to save time the project is taking, ensuring a bonus for completing the job ahead of schedule.

Got links for all those facts?