Here in New York, at the "Queens West" development in Long Island City, about an hour ago.
Basically across the river from the UN, this site has been undergoing a massive redevelopment over the last ten years, going from a warehouse-light industrial area to a high-rise residential complex.
The area was the site of the Pennsylvania-Long Island Railroad ferry terminal, where all freight trains to Long Island were carried across the river to four large float bridges, supported by gantries which would load the freight cars onto eastbound tracks.
Another portion of the site was a large Pepsi Cola bottling and distribution plant.
Developers have been putting up a series of 30 to 40 story towers, plus low rise condos, a new school and a library under a master plan that included large scale remediation from oil and gas pollutants left by the businesses previously occupying the area.
Anyone who has been on the East Side of Manhattan can recall seeing the large "Pepsi Cola" sign which was moved from the top of a warehouse to a spot in the waterfront park.
The crane was set up just east of the sign, at the new building being erected. Right now they are reporting 4 hurt. As a site photo shows, the crane fell right across the second floor deck, which was in the process of being formed up.
(This in addition to a ferry crash, where a commuter ferry from NJ hit a dock in the financial district this morning, injuring about 70 people.)
I had a SA remark, but it wasn't appropriate in one sense and was too blasted political.
Hope no one got badly hurt.
:excruciating:
NYC has been having way too many of these. I remember ENR did a feature on the subject about a year ago. Too many poorly trained riggers and operators if I remember.
The WNBC will update over time, but I can't see what would be "political" in this, nor why it would call for a "SA" comment.
Right now, WNBC says seven workers hurt....three "serious", four "minor". No one from our firm was on the site, although we did work there when the remediation was going on.
NY1, the cable news channel here, says nine injured.
This building is going to be 24 stories high when completed.
The crane is owned by New York Crane, the same firm that owned the crane that collapsed back in 2008 on East 91st Street, killing two people, just two months after a crane collapsed on East 51st Street, killing seven people.
The accidents in 2008 prompted a stop work order on all crane projects, a review of all crane permits and inspections, and resulted in several sets of criminal charges.
> NYC has been having way too many of these.
Even one is too many, but if you google "ENR crane collapse", you'll find just as many in Texas, Florida, Wisconsin and other areas, many with the comment that there have been "too many". In fact, the first two that come up are about an accident in Houston, and further down is an article about two in Dallas.
(Not picking on Texas, but that's what's in the google search....)
My point being, it's not like NYC is the crane collapse capital of the USA. There's a lot of work going on, and along with that, high density population. Any accident, especially one that involves fatalities, is going to get a lot of attention.
I agree. Too many everywhere. And your point is well taken, more cranes in NYC.
Didn't mean to single out the Big Apple.
I remember one failing when they built Miller Park in Milwaukee. They always make a big mess.
I see the subject has it's own website: http://www.craneaccidents.com
