[Scott1280]

Here's the Link from NY1

I've been watching different reports on TV about this. Typical media morons having to say SOMETHING, so they say all sorts of BS in the process.

Based on a an eye-witness I saw interviewed, they were in the process of doing a lift on the crane when it went over. I'll be looking for more details to try and piece together what happened.

Thoughts & prayers to the families of those killed, and Godspeed to the recuse workers on the scene looking for more victims.

 

[Brenainn]

Wow

Unbelieveble,. Its amazing more people didnt get killed. Usually these things come down to the contractor taking shortcuts to save money, a quick pick on sat=less traffic, save time, $, ect.

"Thoughts & prayers to the families of those killed, and Godspeed to the recuse workers on the scene looking for more victims." well said

 

[edvac]

crane hit and collapsed a 4 storey building i heard

This post edited by edvac 07:24 PM 03/15/2008

 

[MrNovember]

I just read that they were hoisting a piece of steel when it fell and sheared one of the arms that tie the crane back to the building. I find it hard to believe they were hoisting steel becasue i'm a carpenter down there, and if you look at that building, it was not a steel building, it is reinforced concrete...so i guess we'll have to wait to see what osha has to say..I will say this, at the pace these building go up these days, its a miracle there aren't more accidents....way too much speed in construction and what suffers are safety and especially quality of the builing itself...

 

[SinkerBouncer]

Terrible accident.
So far only 4 fatalities.
Thank goodness for the Yankee game.
John LaGreco, who owned a tavern called Fubar that was closed when the brownstone was crushed, said his employee, Juan Perez, was the man pulled from the rubble. He said Perez suffered a broken leg. All of his employees were accounted for.
"Our bar is done," he said. "The crane crashed the whole building. If I wasn't watching a Yankees game, I would've come to work early and gotten killed."

 

[offracing]

terrible accident

that was a terrible freak accident, my prayers go out to the victims and there families, i hope its none of the union brothers i ride the rails with.
carl
offracing

 

[Scott1280]

Brenainn wrote:
Unbelieveble,. Its amazing more people didnt get killed. Usually these things come down to the contractor taking shortcuts to save money, a quick pick on sat=less traffic, save time, $, ect.

"Save Money on a Saturday???" 100% FALSE! When you work on a Saturday you have to pay premium time to everyone for the whole day, so even a "quick pick" costs you an entire day and costs you at least 50% more than during the week. Less traffic, absolutely, and who knows how much worse this could have been during a weekday.

According to the NY1 Report they were "jumping the crane" which means they were adding sections to the tower. That means there would have been one guy in the cab as the crane operator and 3 guys directly under the crane head working on installing the additional section. Cranes of this type are built vertically onto themselves and then there are large street "tie-backs" that attach the crane to the superstructure of the building every several floors.

As the crane rises and gets further away from the last set of tie-backs, you can actually watch them sway on themselves. The owner of the construction company said that a "freak accident" caused something to shear off one of the tie-back supports, which would have made the crane very unsteady and once is swayed far enough off it's center of gravity, it could/would have done exactly what it did and fall over like a tree being cut down.

I also love these comments:

Neighbors said the 15-story white crane, owned by New York Crane and made by the Australian company FAVCO, appeared unstable before the accident. But the unit passed an inspection conducted by the city on Friday, and the proper permits were in place for the raising of the crane that was taking place when the crash occurred.

All of the "construction expert" neighbors say the crane appeared unstable yet even the DOB inspectors were there FRIDAY and all was fine. I know the crane went down, but that appears to be as a result of the jumping operation, which is the most dangerous operation in erecting the crane.

I also loved all of the reporters who kept repeating the number of Violations on the building as if it means the site was unsafe. I'd love to know what they were for, because MOST of the violations on a property as from the DOT writing you up for alegedly being in violation of your street permits (Materials 10' into the street when the permit calls for 8', personal vehicles being parked in the loading dock on a saturday, etc). Completely uninformed people talking about something as if they know what they're rambling about. Schumcks!

It will be nothing less than a small miracle if the only people killed were the 4 guys jumping the crane. This was like cutting down a giant redwood tree and having it fall in Midtown Manhattan.

 

[Brenainn]

Scott, Ive seen these accidents happen first hand and they are usually the direct result of the contractor cutting corners

 

[crabman1130]

Fist of all the "community" always complains when new construction goes up, so there was no great insite there.

Second the freak accident was that the load fell and took out the support that tied the crane into the building. This could have been the riggers fault or a failure in the equipement. If it had fallen to either side of the support the crane would not have fallen and the damage would not have been as sever.

I don't see how the contractor has been found to be at fault yet.

 

[Scott1280]

Brenainn wrote:
Scott, Ive seen these accidents happen first hand and they are usually the direct result of the contractor cutting corners
Really... You've seen tower cranes collapse in NYC?? When? Where?

 

[Scott1280]

crabman1130 wrote:
Fist of all the "community" always complains when new construction goes up, so there was no great insite there.
Absolutely! They live in a hi-rise across from the new hi-rise and complain about the same construction operations that were undertaken to build the building that they are living in. Luckily, even NYC, in all its infinite wisdom, doesn't side with the complainer when the complainee is doing the same type of construciton as the complainers builder did when they built their building. If it was good enough for the goose, it's good for the gander too.


crabman1130 wrote:

Second the freak accident was that the load fell and took out the support that tied the crane into the building. This could have been the riggers fault or a failure in the equipement. If it had fallen to either side of the support the crane would not have fallen and the damage would not have been as sever.

I don't see how the contractor has been found to be at fault yet.

It looks and sounds to me like the crane section that was about to be installed during the jump fell and it sheared off one of the tie-backs below. The crane lifts the section and then it gets hung gtom a steel beam protruding from the tower directly under the crane head. They get the section hung in a steel chain and ready to insert it into the crane. The Crane then picks up a large concrete block as a counter weight, and then the men under the crane head unbolt the sections, hydraulic pistons lift the crane up, and then they slide the next section into place. Then they bolt everything down, lower the cran one the new section, and the crane is now a section taller. If the new section broke free of that chain it would have fallen down right next to the mast and it very well could have sheared off one of the tiebacks between the mast and the superstructure. If the crane was already near the end of it's tieback limit, and then lost the one below, it would have become unstable.

Time will tell what happened.

 

[Scott1280]

9 Violations on the Project

NEW YORK -- The skyscraper under construction where the crane collapsed had nine building violations against the property, all Severity "A," records indicate.

ECB Violations:

1) FAILURE TO HAVE SITE SAFETY MANAGER PRESENT AS REQUIRED (34565757L) Issued: 02/24/2007 Compliance Date: 02/06/2008 Status: Overdue Severity: A

2) FAIL TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC/PROPERTY EFFECTED BY CONST OPERATION (34582030P) Issued: 10/05/2007 Compliance Date: 01/03/2008 Status: No Compliance Record Severity: A

3) MISC. CONSTRUCTION VIOLATION - HAZARD (34615365P) Issued: 02/08/2008 Compliance Date: 03/20/2008 Status: Pending Severity: A

4) FAILURE TO PERFORM ADEQUATE HOUSEKEEPING (34632518L) Issued: 01/23/2008 Compliance Date: 03/12/2008 Status: Pending Severity: A

5) UNSAFE STORAGE OF MATERIALS AT EDGE OF BUILDINGS (34632520K) Issued: 01/23/2008 Compliance Date: 03/12/2008 Status: Pending Severity: A

6) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ROOF PROTECTION ON ADJACENT PROPERTY. AS NOTED: AN ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE. THERE IS NO ROOF PROTECTION ON ADJACENT BLDG S ON WEST ELEVATION AT TIME OF INSPECTION BLDG UP TO 7TH FLOOR & FORM (34627086K) Issued: 01/05/2008 Compliance Date: 4/4/2008 Status: No Compliance Record Severity: A

7) WORK WITHOUT A PERMIT - HAZARDOUS (34627088Y) Issued: 1.7.2008 Compliance Date: 4/4/2008 Status: No Compliance Record Severity: A

8 ) NO SIDEWALK SHED (34627089X) Details: NO SIDEWALK SHED. AS NOTED: AN ACTIVE NEW CONSTRUCTION BLDG UP TO 7TH FLOOR. THERE IS NO SIDEWALK SHED PROVIDED AS PER SITE SAFETY PLANS. RE

MEDY: STOP ALL WORK? PROVIDE SIDEWALK SHED AS PER CODE. Issued: 1.7.2008 Compliance Date: 4/4/2008 Status: No Compliance Record Severity: A

9) NO GUARD RAILS (34627090N) Issued: 1.7.2008 Compliance Date: 4/4/2008 Status: No Compliance Record Severity: A

DOB Violations - 5 Open

1/23/08 - VIOLATION WORK WITHOUT PERMIT - ACTIVE DOB VIOLATION - ACTIVE 02/24/2007 - Construction (no more details) DOB VIOLATION - ACTIVE 02/24/2007 - Construction (no more details) DOB VIOLATION - ACTIVE 01/19/2007 - Boiler (no more details) DOB VIOLATION - ACTIVE 08/13/2007 - Construction (no more details)

Notable Complaints Filed: 39 filed in total, 1 OPEN

1) CALLER STATES, CRANE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE BRACED TO THE BUILDING. THERE ONLY TIE BACKS ON 5 OR 6 FLOOR BUT UPPER PART WHICH IS 100 FT UP IS UNSECURED

Filed 3/4/2008 Inspection: 03/06/2008 - - I2 - NO VIOLATION WARRANTED FOR COMPLAINT AT TIME OF INSPECTION Comments: CRANE IS ERECTED ACCORDING TO APPROVED CN. #39/08, CD#3774

2) 03/01/2008 - Illegal After Hours work - Never inspected (OPEN)

This post edited by Scott1280 11:41 AM 03/16/2008

 

[MakoMike]

I know the site. Its almost in the backyard of the brownstone where my son rents his apartment. He's on 52nd just off of 2nd ave. the new building is on 51st just off second. The construction site is one lot to the west of the backyard of the brownstone where my son lives. Fortunately he and his family were oit at Whistler in B.C. this weekend! From what he has heard his building was untouched.

 

[Scott1280]

Thank God Mike!

 

[Scott1280]

So I came in this morning to find out that the guys who were killed Saturday were the some of the guys that worked on the job that I am finishing up now. These were guys that I knew personally and were really great guys.

Based on news reports and what I'm told by one of their co-workers who stopped by this morning to see us. The guys who were killed were the best crane jumping crew in the city. One of the guys who was hurt (Billy) was a master rigger and has a contract with most of the crane contractors in the city to jump their cranes. Somehow, while they were installing the tieback collar on the crane, it fell, sliding down the crane and shearing off the other two collars as it fell. Without those tie-back collars in place, the crane lost it's center of gravity and went down. Two of the guys who would have been directly under the crane head are still missing and they are looking through the debris for them now.

There is some information that says the crane head went down a floor before the collar fell which could mean that there was a hydraulic failure in the crane head pumps that lift the crane to add sections.

This is the first time there has ever been a tower crane accident in the city. Other crane accidents have been street cranes. Right now there is a somber mood in my office for the people lost, and we're sure that the city will impose all sorts of new regulations as a result (warranted or otherwise).

Please pray that they find the missing men today. Also please pray for their families, and their extended family in the construction industry. Today is a sad day for us all...

 

[onitis]

Having worked 42 years on constuction in NYC before recently retiring i think i know a little about it.In the last 10 years maybe a little more most jobs have been "fast track".What this means is that the job must progress according to a quick paced schedule.Safety and quality are sacrifised in order to meet the deadlines.Contractors only care about finishing on time.

 

[JESSIELEE]

NEW YORK (CNN) ? A fifth body has been pulled from the site where a crane collapsed Saturday on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, New York police said Monday.

The body was male, police said.

 

[MakoMike]

Anyone have anu idea how long the clean-up will take? I'm supposed be down there next Sunday and by the sound of things it looks like the traffic/parking is going to be a real mess!

 

[crabman1130]

Until all the victims are recovered they will be going slowly. Right now it's being moved by hand so that they don't have anymore collapse and perhaps kill a survivor. After all victims are recovered they will move in with heavy machinery and remove the rubble. But it's going to be a week at least.

This post edited by crabman1130 11:00 AM 03/17/2008

 

[MakoMike]

Yeah, That's about what I was thinking, maybe we'll have to move out Easter celebration to CT.