September 29, 2006
Crane Attacks Cab on 3rd and 13th Street
Whoa, via labs about a half-hour ago: "crane just dropped a giant block into traffic 15 floors down smashing thru a cab! i got pics on the scene." (Pix are from Selectroclash.) The wires are saying that the police are calling a level one mobilization because the crane is still unstable. Six people have been injured, and three buildings are being evacuated. More info as it develops.
Update: pix can be found at londontube and djmac on Flickr. Apparently the crane was attached to the One Ten Third development (yes, the Toll Brothers building).
Update: Apparently the situation is still unstable (a piece of the crane is still dangling)-- Tim Minton at WNBC is getting pushed out of the area by the FDNY live on Channel 4 right now. Latest update says that the people in the cab weren't seriously injured (amazing)-- but they're being taken to the hospital for examination. Minton points out that this is the third construction accident this week. Helicopter shots are showing 3rd Ave shut down 12th-14th, but traffic is moving east-west on 14th.
Update: NYCViaRachel has 43 pictures, including closeups of the perpetrator: a large white crane.
Update: The NYPD is escorting a rescue crane from NJ, via the George Washington Bridge. And the L train is bypassing a station, probably Third Avenue. (Also, there's a signal issue at Union Square: Manhattan-bound W trains and Brooklyn-bound R trains are running express between Times Square and Canal) .
Update: The NYPD is reporting that the crane lost some counterweights and is in imminent danger of collapse. The rescue crane is now coming from Queens, and all resources will be devoted to make sure it will get there.
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That is one of my worst nightmares come true.
that building has been going up really, really fast too.
guess that will slow down a bit now.
Isn't that the new Toll Brothers New School dorm or something?
Great, I pass there 2 three times a week...
Hope no one got killed.
That is a toll brothers condo building...scary stuff.
God, I used to live by that very same corner. Good thing I'm in New Zealand now...
Too bad it didn't take the building with it.
Who are the Toll Brothers? (almost made a typo as the "tool bros")
my friend lives in the building across the street and he says that they can't go in and they are keeping everyone one block away.
Toll Brothers is a large (publicly traded) homebuilder around the country. They book themselves as a "luxury home and community developer." I believe this is their first foray in Manhattan. They're also doing that North8 buidling in Williamsburg.
The attack of the cranes!
thanks mgp.
Interesting. Another player in the NYC RE landscape.
I was just at 14th & Broadway and was wondering what the heck was going on ... cop cars everywhere...
Etiquette Question: Just what do you tip the cabbie after a ride like that?.
Guess what -- there's an NYU angle.
The NYU dorm, Palladium, is one of the buildings that was evacuated. My g/f (who lives there) tells me over 1000 people live in that building. I'm not reporting the story, so verify it yourself on NYU's Web site.
More gossip from the g/f: Students with noplace to crash are being sent to a temporary Red Cross shelter while the crane gets recovered.
She says firefighters told her the rescue crane is ahead of schedule and work should be done by morning.
No, Nick, you've got it backwards. CORAL has been evacuated, they've moved TO Palladium.
"Friday, September 29, 2006, 6:30 pm
This afternoon around 4:00, there was a crane accident between 13th and 14th Streets and Third Avenue.
No NYU students, faculty, or staff have been injured. The accident did not take place at an NYU building.
Due to Fire Department's concern about the stability of the crane, they have ordered the evacuation of the Coral Towers student residence hall, which is nearby the site of the accident, for the time being.
Coral Towers residents will not be able to enter the residence hall until there is clearance from the emergency service agencies. Until that time, Coral residents should proceed to the athletic facility in Palladium Hall via the 13th Street entrance. University staff will be there to receive Coral Towers residents, answer questions, address concerns, and provide temporary accommodations.
The University is in constant and close communications with the city's emergency services agencies on site. We will provide additional information as soon as it is available.
For further information, please contact the NYU Department of Public Safety at 212-998-2222."
Quote from Washington Square News' article on the story:
"Palladium residence hall, which is to the immediate west of the building, was protected from the crash by the building itself. Though residents were temporarily evacuated, the building is now serving as a temporary relief station for displaced Coral residents."
So, no, Duh, we're both right.
Glad to hear they're ok. I was really rooting for a spectacular big-ass crane tumble.
I work near here but was not in on Saturday - does anyone know what time 13th street opened again on Saturday?
i'd like to understand how the piece fell. from the photo it looks like a segment of the crane shaft, but the shaft, cab and arm are intact. and what that big dangling cube is. a counterweight to the part that fell?