Crane Collapse in Queens Injures Seven
Construction crane collapse in Queens. (ChristinaCNN/Twitter)
A 300-foot-tall crane collapsed today in Long Island City, Queens, injuring seven construction workers. The accident happened at the site of a new 26-story luxury residential tower by developer TF Cornerstone, part of the 21-acre waterfront East Coast development. The NY Times’ City Room blog reported that crane owner, New York Crane and Equipment Corporation, was acquitted of manslaughter charges stemming from a previous 2008 collapse in Manhattan that killed two. Today’s collapse of the temporary crane structure occurred while attempting to lift a load onto the construction site. Three of the injured were taken to the hospital and fortunately it’s believed that injuries were non-life-threatening. More photos of the collapse at Curbed and Gothamist.
Head Crane Inspector Headed to Prison
Delayo in court. (Courtesy NY Post)
James Delayo, once the head of the Department of Building’s crane inspectors until he was arrested two years ago for accepting bribes on the job, was sentenced to two to six years in prison today for his $10,000 take. According to the Times, Delayo apologized to the city, as well as his fellow crane inspectors, who “don’t deserve the bad publicity I brought them.” The judge called the crime “an extraordinary betrayal of public trust,” especially in light of the spate of crane accidents, some lethal, that preceded the city investigation that led to Delayo’s arrest. Though as Curbed points out, Delayo was not actually the biggest crook at the department.
The Bright Side of Collapse
The 250-foot crane on Saturday, before its collapse and after. (Adam B./Courtesy Gothamist)
It may have been a jarring reminder of the two deadly crane accidents two springs before, but fortunately little more. A smaller mobile crane toppled onto 80 Maiden Lane in the Financial District on Saturday evening, but it caused little damage and no fatalities, unlike the collapse of two tower cranes in March and May 2008, which claimed seven and two lives, respectively. The exact cause of this latest accident remains unknown, but it was believed to be a combination of human error (the boom was not sufficiently lowered) and mechanical failure (bad hydraulics). In a twist of fate, the crane fell onto the building occupied by the city’s Department of Inspections, which is charged with routing out the corrupt inspectors who let the prior accidents happen, though there appears to be no malfeasance in this incident. Two days later, two Brooklyn condos under construction collapsed, Read More
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