Jun 1, 2008 10:03 am US/Eastern
Crane Work May Resume In NYC On Monday
Investigators Remove Crane From NYC Collapse Site
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Seven buildings have been evacuated as a precaution following the collapse.
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Donald Leo, 30, was killed in the Upper East Side crane collapse on May 30, 2008.
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Ramadan Kurtaj, 27, was killed in the Upper East Side crane collapse on May 30, 2008.
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A firefighter digs through wreckage following a crane collapse on May 30, 2008 in New York City.
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A gash in a building under construction is visible following a crane collapse on May 30, 2008 in New York City.
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A wrecked penthouse apartment following a crane collapse on May 30, 2008 in New York City.
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A heap of rubble lies on 91st Street and 1st Avenue in New York City on May 30, 2008 after a crane collapsed.
CBS
Crane operations in New York City, halted after the fatal Upper East Side crane collapse on May 30, may resume on Monday, with the exception of those using the same crane model as that involved in the collapse.
The investigation into the tragedy continues. Piece by piece the toppled crane was dismantled and carted away to an undisclosed location for expert examination. But the clean up continues to send dust and debris flying on East 91st Street.
Damaged empty apartments, blocked-off streets, and two deaths all drew the ire of Manhattan's borough president.
"Too many New Yorkers find themselves worried that the construction boom in New York is endangering their safety." said Manhattan President Scott Stringer.
New York's latest doomed crane was inspected multiple times and shut down twice. Now the focus is on a crack in the crane's turn-table base.
Sources tell CBS 2HD the crack was identified earlier this year at another site, welded together, then put back in to service on East 91st Street on April 20th.
After a late afternoon emergency meeting downtown, acting building commissioner Robert Limandri promised all New Yorkers he would get results.
"What we need to determine: was this the model and did it have a problem and what was the fix that was done," Limandri said. "I had over 80 high level executives from all parts of the industry coming together with me to solve this problem."
For now, all tower cranes in the city are at stand-still. The one that toppled was 24 years old and manufactured by Kodiak. Four others of the same model are being re-inspected first before the end of this weekend.
But worried residents and city leaders are demanding more.
"Four hundred inspectors at a time of record construction boom is simply not cutting it," Stringer said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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