Buildings commissioner orders work to stop on five sites using cranes supplied by firm involved in Friday's fatal collapse
The construction of several large buildings in Manhattan has been halted as officials investigate the fatal crane collapse that occurred in the city on Friday.
Robert LiMandri, the acting buildings commissioner for New York City, stopped work at four sites where plant from the same company as the collapsed crane was being used.
The crane, made by US manufacturer Kodiak, collapsed at 354 East 91 Street on Friday morning, killing two workers and causing serious damage to a 23-storey residential apartment block.
The five sites to have stopped work are the site of the crane collapse; a 57-storey hotel at 123 Washington St; a ten-floor residential complex at 245 10th Avenue, a 30-storey apartment tower at 400 East 67th Street; and a 29-storey tower at 808 Columbus Avenue.
A total of 15 people have died on building sites in New York this year. Michael Bloomberg, the city mayor, defended the city’s buildings department.
He said: “There are too many accidents, and we’re going to see if we can do more to make sure everything is safe. We have a Buildings Department that has many thousands of people, and I think it’s fair to say that they probably have prevented an enormous number of things that could have led to accidents.”
An official involved in the inquiry has told the New York Times that Manhattan’s district attorney had opened a criminal inquiry into whether the crane’s turntable had been damaged last year and then put back into service.
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