Notify NYC Tweeted, "Due to emergency activity at 80 Maiden Lane, expect traffic delays and possible street closures around lower Manhattan." The emergency? A crane has collapsed and it now leaning against a building. (About an hour ago, the crane was in danger of collapsing.)

UPDATE: Reader Adam B., who lives across from 80 Maiden Lane, sent us photographs and tells us that the crane went up this morning:

The crane was left in its upright position at the end of the day and it looks to have fallen forward... It sounded like something falling down a very large metal trash chute. Like the sound you would hear if something was thrown into an empty dumpster but that sound lasted much longer. Once I heard the sound I immediately thought of the crane and knew it couldn't be good.

There is also damage to the black wrought-iron fence on the roof of the building (that isn't coming out in pics due to the darkness). I can see structural damage from where the bricks were located but nothing else... Fireman are on the roof assessing the damage. One even climbed over the bent fence and was on the ledge of building checking out damage.

UPDATE 9:09 PM: Another reader sent us pictures, telling us, "Firemen are cutting away fencing at the top of the building."

According to the DOB, there was a complaint on March 8 for " CRANE - NO PERMIT/ LICENSE/ CERT/ UNSAFE/ ILLEGAL." However, the next day, the DOB notes, "NO VIOLATION WARRANTED FOR COMPLAINT AT TIME OF INSPECTION... NO CRANES ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION."

The AP reports, "The fire official said Saturday there were no injuries after the crane hit the 23-story parapet of the building near 80 Maiden Lane. A parapet is a barrier that extrudes from the side of the building and can be decorative." The building, 80 Maiden Lane, was designed by Daniel H. Burnham, who designed the Flatiron Building and the Wanamaker Building (the big building near Astor Place bounded Broadway and Lafayette, 8th and 9th Streets, with K-Mart on the ground floor).

The NY Times had a feature on the building a few years ago: "At the 24th floor, the bare facade bursts out with a band of rich neo-Classical ornament in white against a chalky blue background. Above this band are panels of terra cotta with lacy trim. The top floor — the 25th — is the bravura closing act. Here the windows are huge portholes flanked by giant palmette shapes and rectangular plaques. The windows themselves are bordered by bands of intricate fretwork."

In March 2008, a crane collapsed in Midtown East, killing seven people. Two months later, a crane collapsed on the Upper East Side, killing two. The incidents prompted the Department of Buildings to strengthen its crane safety operations.

UPDATE 10:15 PM: We hear that the authorities got the okay to remove the crane (as if anyone would want it remaining there). As commenter Landor pointed out, the NY Times posted its story: "The crane, which is owned by Bay Crane, looked precarious as it leaned on the corner of the building. Streets were closed off for several blocks and curious neighbors came out — one woman even brought a bowl of pretzels."

UPDATE 10:26 PM: A reader says they are now evacuating 2 Gold Street, the residential apartment building across the street.

UPDATE 11:43 PM: Because of the partial crane collapse, the 2 and 3 trains are "running on slow speed" between Wall and Fulton Streets. Also, Notify NYC says, "The following streets are closed: Maiden Ln from Water St to Broadway. Pearl St from Fletcher to Wall St."