New Crane at Collapse Site "Fresh Out of the Box"

The Daily News checked out the new crane at the 1st Avenue and East 91 Street site where a crane collapsed, killing two men, in May. Neighbors were wary--one said, "The first thing I thought was, 'Oh, here we go again,'" while another said, "I tend to think they won't screw up twice, but I don't want to be the one who is told, 'I told you so.'" The Buildings Department said the crane is "fresh out of the box," referring to how the previous crane was 25 years old--and was struck by lightning in 2007. The DOB recently introduced new rules requiring crane contractors to have the cranes' manuals on hand for inspectors, which the industry isn't very happy with because many cranes are so old, the manuals are lost.