May 30, 2008 7:27 pm US/Eastern
CBS 2 HD Discloses History Of Fallen Crane Site
City Councilman Calls For All Construction Work To Be Halted Across City
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Seven buildings have been evacuated as a precaution following the collapse.
Anthony Behar/Getty Images
As the investigation into what caused an Upper East Side crane to collapse Friday morning in Manhattan gets underway, the public is learning more about the site's history, and what is being discovered is making many people very angry.
When the crane fell to the commuter-busy street just after 8 a.m., New Yorkers gasped for air, and asked, "how could this happen, again?"
The complex under construction is Azure New York, a co-op designed to be 34 floors tall, with an adjoining middle school as part of the agreement to develop the land. The developers are the Matone Group of College Point, Queens, and the DeMatteis Organization in Elmont, New York. Neither group was immediately available for comment.
The name on the crane is "Lomma." A call to Lomma Crane and Rigging of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, referred CBS 2 to its Newark office. A call to that office got a curt "no comment."
But the Buildings Department has issued violations at the site in recent weeks, officials have said.
On April 24, a violation was issued for "working without a permit" and "operating crane in unsafe manner."
On that date, a "partial stop work order" was issued by the Buildings Department. Then, on May 7, a "full stop work order" was served due to "hazardous conditions observed at the job site."
On May 13, a caller reported that bricks and wood had fallen from the site. The Buildings Department reported no violation upon inspection of the site.
On May 21, another caller complained about the crane "extending across a sidewalk and well into traffic." Again, an inspection determined no violation was warranted.
And just on Friday, the "partial stop work order" was rescinded.
Mayor Bloomberg tried assuring the public that normal procedure was followed, saying, "this building was inspected over the weekend, and it was done properly."
Since the deadly collapse of an East Side Manhattan crane in March that took the lives of 7 people, city inspectors were present every time a crane was erected or made taller. But on Wednesday, that was amended for inspectors to do only spot checks.
Whether enough was done to prevent this tragedy is up for debate, and surely the site's history will speak for itself, but one thing is certain, crane sites across New York City have to be made safe. Too many lives have already been lost.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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