Gothamist: Fatally Fulfilled Expectations in Crane Collapse

sonyactivision

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:49:53 -0500

Now that neighborhood has to worry about two cranes: a new one to finish Azure, and another to repair that badly damaged building next door. The least the city could do is offer these rattled neighbors free Valium.

west side Michael

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:14:11 -0500

D.O.B. is a bribe agency that's it, I guess some writing here are pro Economic Segregation builders. Yes,Planes go down too but they are not supposed to it's usually some form of Human error. 16 dead from injuries at work sites in our city this year ain't a worried "Chicken little" paranoia. More to come I fear ,the statistics speak for themselves.

kenny000

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:41:57 -0500

"there shouldn't be no construction, but it should slow down to a speed where the agencies who oversee safety, etc. are able to handle it." No, I think the DOB should hire more inspectors that are more qualified. Where does this money come from? Charge the developers as part of the construction permits. Compared to the costs of these buildings, the extra fees wouldn't be much.

trotskie

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:12:40 -0500

I think it is a little specious to post this as news. Like others are saying, civilians don't understand how cranes are engineered so there assessments as to their safety are a little difficult to take seriously. Find rigger who felt that he was rushed while welding segments of the framing? Then you will have my attention.

chubbyonekanubby

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:07:12 -0500

TheKlaus beat me to it, but I guarantee there are people who live around every one of these cranes that is in the city that calls 311 every time the wind blows to say how they dont think its safe yadayada. Unfortunately this one happened to come down.

Whammo

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:59:05 -0500

I'm sure there are Chicken Littles living near every construction crane that are paranoid it will come crashing down at any moment.

gilbertleighprestigemonkey

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:21:33 -0500

I agree with ya, 2,4,7 & 9, but can i just add one more thought, that does cross a bit out of the immediate discussion (sorry. I think it's sporting in this case). In this "post 9-11 world" of "if you see something, say something" (MTA), the government-elicited paranoia about a great many things (not just cranes) stands a better chance of being kept in check if the overload-of-concern affects more than just innocent people taking pictures of their kids on the subway. That is, a government that goes very far out of its way to encourage citizens to snoop on and report irrational worries about other citizens, should not be surprised or upset when the snooping and irrational worries start to come in about matters of business and/or government itself, rather than just reports about "suspicious individuals".

pazzia

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:31:37 -0500

there shouldn't be no construction, but it should slow down to a speed where the agencies who oversee safety, etc. are able to handle it.

thcalan

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:43:59 -0500

I bet that if Godzilla swam out of the east river and attacked that building you could find 100 people that claimed they called 311 and complained that they KNEW the East River was not safe. They just KNEW it. I work for a state agency and the calls we get about people complaining about highly complex systems that they know IN THIER BONES are not safe would make your head spin. This is as complete a non-story as you could find.

Spiritof76

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:37:04 -0500

[2] and [4], Exactly what I was thinking. So some woman calls and calls about a crane. Why? Did she spot some kind of problem or was it just a general "It's a big crane! Heeeellllp!" If every crane that got hysterical repeated calls with no actual facts backing them was shut down, they'd all be gone. I'm sure that would suit some people just fine, but as much as I hate the overdevelopment of NYC, I can't justify that. Market forces should create a major slowdown of construction soon anyway, which is fine by me, but at least that's a legitimate reason.

JacqueMehoff

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:50:27 -0500

instead of wedging that 22 story building in the middle of walk ups, why not just bulldoze and raze the entire block? you know you want to, bloomberg.

rtd2101

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:46:21 -0500

But sorry, I forgot Bloomberg's mantra: Regulation and oversight = communism Regulation and oversight = communism Regulation and oversight = communism Regulation and oversight = communism Regulation and oversight = communism Let the free market rule the day, and let all the little people pay...

djwerdna

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:44:59 -0500

I agree with TheKlaus. People just had a vague anxiety which had nothing to do with this particular crane itself, but with the fact that there was a large crane or the recent crane accident. People are just justifying their fears after the fact. "See, I told you!"

rtd2101

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:44:30 -0500

I'm sorry, but saying "the tragedy and human toll are the cost of the city's huge building boom" is like saying STDs are the cost of sex. STDs are the cost of unprotected sex, and "tragedy and human toll" are the cost of a city shirking its responsibilities so as not to burden developers and construction contractors with the oh so difficult responsibility of making sure their buildings are being built safely. One can have a building boom and protect the lives of city residents and construction workers at the same time. The two things are not mutually exclusive.

TheKlaus

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:38:17 -0500

My problem is that these people who are lodging complaints against this crane have no idea what they're actually complaining about. They look at the massive structure, get nervous at the sight of it, get paranoid it isn't up to snuff, and then call 311. Yet they aren't calling 311 as crane experts; they're calling as nervous nellies. Every crane site in this city gets calls to 311. Just because these people called 311 and the thing ended up collapsing doesn't make them expert. It only validated their nervousness. “I was scared for weeks and weeks. It wasn’t a matter of if but when.” Why was she scared? How was she so sure it wasn't 'a matter of if but when'? People are just inherently wigged out about shit. And when the shit hits the fan they're all "SEE?! I told you so."

Uptown Girl UES

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:36:52 -0500

Mark me down as one not surprised. I had commented to a friend last Saturday about that crane. I said it didn't look safe the way it hung half way out on First Avenue. When I walked into work, my boss said "crane collapse on the UES." I knew. However, the hysterical response of "no construction" is not the answer either. Construction is a dangerous business but also provides a lot of jobs for the city (ie construction workers, engineers, architects, etc.). Do they have to figure out a way to monitor these sites better? Sure. But shutting down an industry will not solve the problem.