Crane collapses on Manhattan’s Upper East Side: 2 Dead

by Barry Artiste | May 30, 2008 at 05:03 am

2135 views | 54 Recommendations | 24 comments

You know, there seems to be a lot of crane accidents going on in New York, one wonders if in their haste to build the Big Apple, a few are going to start falling out of the trees.

I will try and get some photos as the story develops. It is reported 2 are dead and the story is still in development stage.

NEW YORK (AP) — A construction crane has collapsed on New York’s Upper East Side.

The Fire Department says it has pulled people out of the wreckage at East 91st Street and First Avenue. Their conditions are not immediately known.

The top floor of a nearby high-rise apartment building has been damaged. Firefighters and rescue workers are continuing to search through the wreckage.

In March, a 20-story crane broke away from an apartment tower under construction and toppled over, killing seven.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/16434038/detail.html

NEW YORK -- A construction crane collapsed on New York's Upper East Side on Friday morning, smashing into a high-rise apartment building and leaving at least one person dead. Firefighters swarmed over the wreckage at East 91st Street and First Avenue, searching for bodies.It wasn't immediately clear whether there were additional fatalities.Initial, unconfirmed reports had said two people were died, WNBC-TV in New York reported.A TV station helicopter showed a large portion of the crane tumbled onto the building.The crane smashed into a 23-story apartment building before falling onto the street below. The accident happened 2½ months after a crane collapse killed seven people about two miles south, near the United Nations.It demolished a four-story townhouse. Last month, the city's buildings commissioner resigned, under fire over a rising number of fatal construction accidents.

Below is live coverage from New Yorks Wabc-online News

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6174607

1 See all footage | View Slideshow

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Rob Walker

at 05:29 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, thanks for getting this story out so quickly. It will now show up on the home page for four hours. If new developments justify it, I'll renew this flag for another cycle.

Barry Artiste

at 05:36 on May 30th, 2008

Thanks to you both, certainly breaking, the internet traffic here (for me) is horrendously slow for some reason, so if anyone has anything to add, add away!

Critical Todd

at 07:10 on May 30th, 2008

From Gawker:

At least two people were killed when a construction crane collapsed on Manhattan's Upper East Side shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. In this clip—with breaking shots of what can only be described as carnage from the scene—a reporter explains the crane's unfortunate configuration: it was actually hanging all the way over the street below, like a "gondola." Its collapse damaged at least 18 floors of a nearby apartment building. This is the second major crane collapse in the city in as many months. Click to watch the clip.

Source: Gawker.com

Amy Judd

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:12 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Thanks for getting the story up quickly and for the updates!

Critical Todd

at 07:18 on May 30th, 2008

Crane safety and new construction has come under new scrutiny after the March 15 crane collapse that claimed the lives of 7 people--a civilian and six workers at a new condominium on East 51st Street. Earlier this week, the Department of Buildings announced that its inspectors will no longer be on site when cranes are built "or made taller". Per the NY Times, "Instead, inspectors will make spot checks of the crane raisings, known as jumps, and of safety meetings at which procedures for each jump must be laid out.

...The FDNY is reporting two fatalities at this point. Apparently the top of a crane--including the cab-- fell off (possibly 20-25 stories) and hit a building across the street (it looks like a penthouse across the street has a corner taken out of it). WABC 7 reports the crane may have been in full extension, snapped in half and hit the building.

Source: Gothamist

codenamecueball

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:26 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

omg. thats all.

Rachel Nixon

at 07:28 on May 30th, 2008

UPDATE: 1130 EDT: Governor David Paterson described the crane collapse as a "terrible tragedy".

Jarrett Martineau

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:38 on May 30th, 2008

Thanks for this, Barry. Good stuff.

Beaulieu

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:47 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Beaulieu

at 07:48 on May 30th, 2008

We don't hear so much about these incidents.. not sure whether it is because companies want to keep it 'hush hush'

AlvarezGalloso

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:04 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff. While I reported the story earlier at 8:53AM, congratulations on reporting the whole story.

Amy Judd

at 08:18 on May 30th, 2008

The Press Association is currently reporting that at least one person is dead - but it is not confirmed that two people have died.

A
construction crane has collapsed in Manhattan, smashing into a
23-storey apartment building before crashing onto the street below and
leaving at least one person dead.

Amy Judd

at 08:30 on May 30th, 2008

Update from the BBC

At least one
person has been killed and two seriously injured by the sudden collapse
of a crane in New York's Upper East Side during the morning rush hour.

Amy Judd

at 09:27 on May 30th, 2008

UPDATE: 1:26PM EST

NEW YORK, May 30 (APP): At least two people were killed in the collapse of a crane on a 23-story building in New York City Friday, officials said.

The search for other possible victims was continuing, according to media reports. Several others were reported injured. The crane collapse was the second in New York in less than three months.

“This is totally mind blowing,” Manhattan borough President Scott Stringer said. “It looks like a bomb exploded in Manhattan. It’s just a total tragedy.”

azzayindia

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:55 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

is it the fault of the carelessnes shown by the builders or the officers who look over the safety norms

politisite

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:18 on May 30th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Amy Judd

at 11:07 on May 30th, 2008

Two people have died in the crane collapse

A
construction crane collapsed Friday on New York's Upper East Side,
smashing into a 23-story apartment building as it fell to the ground,
killing two construction workers and seriously injuring another.

The two men have been identified:

The two
men who died were identified as Ramadan Kurtas, 27, and the crane's
operator, Donald Leo, 30, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the New
York City medical examiner's office.

The other construction
worker was in serious condition, Bloomberg said. In addition, one
pedestrian was treated for minor injuries.

Barry Artiste

at 15:17 on May 30th, 2008

Thank you everyone for your comments on this important story. I would also like to thank everyone who contributed to this story as I was at work and could not cover it in it's entirety.

I would also like to share this story credit with Allvarez, who also reported this story as well at 8:53am Atlantic time. We were most likely watching the same ABC news story developing , being in Florida which is a 4 hour time difference, it is likely our stories were posted almost simultaneously. Kudos to Allvarez from me to you!

I posted this story at a little after 4am pacific time as I was watching ABC news when it hit the airwaves and immediately reported on this story with updates, signing off about 8am Pacific Time.

Now Public should note, the "Now Public Time Stamp" above on my story states I posted this story at 11:00am Pacific Time, The first response I got on this story, was from Now Public Editor Rob whose Now Public Time Stamp states he signaled "Breaking News at 9.29am Pacific Time. I am sure Rob can attest this is incorrect, in that the Breaking News was most posted on my story between 5.15am and 6am Pacific time.

Hopefully this Time Stamp Anomaly at Now Public can rectify this Now Public Time Stamp Issue, and make it reflect true time on both coasts. I hope this clears up any confusion over conflicting stories and time zones.

Again thanks everyone for contributing to "Everyones" story.

Rachel Nixon

at 16:36 on May 30th, 2008

Thanks everyone for all the updates, especially to Barry. Thanks also to some of our other contributors who posted their accounts of this dramatic and tragic event.

Anthony Aucar's eyewitness account can be found here.

Ekavet's account and pictures are here.

Nickl3aker's story and photos are here.

Sorry for the time stamp issues, which I think are now rectified. The time stamps are actually referring to East Coast time, which can be confusing - it's something we're looking at. Thanks.

Barry Artiste

at 19:04 on May 30th, 2008

Thanks Rachel, for acting on this so expediously <----- OOOHHHH Look I leanrt a Knew Werd!

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:23 on May 31st, 2008

The second such collapse in just a few months- sadly, this one proved fatal. Thanks, Barry, for posting this, and thanks to all of our contributors for these photos.

JTshockley

at 17:23 on June 1st, 2008

Hey if anyone needs nyc anything let me know. Photos, stories etc.

Barry Artiste

at 21:39 on June 1st, 2008

Thanks Shockley, that's good to know, since you said etc.. can you send me a large pizza with the works, H-m-m-m lets see.... Corned Beef sandwich on Rye, don't forget the pickle. Thanks, my address is....