One of New Yorker's everyday nightmares is to be hit with falling scaffolding, and, this morning, a four-year-old was the victim of such an incident. The Post reports that she was "on her way to school on the Upper East Side" but luckily "escaped virtually unharmed this morning after she was struck by a wood plank during a scaffolding collapse." more ›

Yikes: Scaffolding outside 222 West 14th Street in Manhattan fell around 7:45 a.m. today, forcing authorities to close the street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Luckily, no one was injured. more ›

Thirty people were onboard the BX15 bus yesterday when metal scaffolding and portions of a building's facade collapsed on it as it was pulling up to a stop at West 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. While 17 were hurt, including two police officers, all of the injuries were non-life threatening. "It sounded like the screws were coming loose," a witness who was waiting for the bus told the Post. "Then there was smoke and dust, and the next thing you know, it just came crashing down on the bus. It was awful, it looked like 9/11." more ›

Yikes: A taxi crashed into scaffolding outside a bank on Park Avenue South and East 21st Street. WABC 7, which describes the cabs as an "out-of-control" SUV, reports that the incident occurred "just before 2 a.m." and sent four people to the hospital. Based on the photo, that cab seems like it must have been super out-of-control, since it's totally on the sidewalk. more ›

For the first time since the 1950s, the city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds are going to get a makeover. The new scaffolding design — selected after an international contest — is intended to "improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks," according to the Mayor's Office. The so-called "The Urban Umbrella" will "complement the city's architectural beauty rather than take it away from it," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Sidewalk sheds are a part of New York life, reflecting the face of a city that is constantly changing — yet the sheds themselves haven't evolved at all during the past four decades and its time to bring them into the 21st century." more ›

Do not mess with Diddy's store frontage: The company behind the rap impresario-vodka shiller's Sean John clothing line is suing its landlord at 475 Fifth Avenue over scaffolding that has been up since 2006. more ›

As hardhats disassembled scaffolding on an Eighth Avenue high-rise on Thursday, a construction worker fell eight stories when a plank collapsed beneath him. Workers had just finished façade repairs on the 20-story building at the corner of 38th Street when a section of scaffolding collapsed on the 16th floor at around 2:15 pm, according to the Daily News. Jose Paulino, 29, plummeted all the way to the eighth floor, bumping off of metal support beams on the way down, which slowed his fall. more ›

A reader tip in Gothamist Contribute said, "2 cabs into scaffolding at nyu (719 broadway)." And then another reader, jlocke, sent us a photograph of the aftermath, writing, "Picture of what was reported in the anonymous tips to be two cabs into scaffolding at NYU on Broadway between Waverly and Washington, two blocks from the taxi into scaffolding accident that injured six on [Nov. 1]. Scaffolding didn't collapse this time, but the whole block is taped off." more ›

Last night around 9 p.m. two cabs crashed into scaffolding at Broadway and East 8th Street. A witness on the scene told WCBS "that one of the cabs tried to overtake the other before the two collided and careened across Broadway at the corner of E. 8th Street, jumping the curb and coming to rest on the sidewalk under the scaffolding." (There's some video of the aftermath after the jump.) more ›

Just after 9 p.m. tonight reports came over the newswire of a scaffolding accident on East 8th Street and Broadway. This is a photo of the scene, where two taxis are trapped under the scaffolding. Reportedly there were six victims being transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. more ›

Yikes: Up at 119th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, a fuel truck apparently hit some scaffolding—and the scaffolding collapsed. We're hearing that the only person injured was the truck driver and that there's a hazmat crew on scene to remove the fuel. more ›

The driver of a van in Harlem today lost control, causing the vehicle to jump the curb and injure six people while simultaneously toppling a scaffolding. The scaffolding had just been cited last month by the Department of Buildings for not meeting safety code standards. An owner of a nearby deli at 136th Street and Lenox Avenue told the News, "It sounded like the whole building fell down." more ›

A reader wants to remind dog owners—and everyone else— to be aware that their pups could be electrocuted not just by lamp posts and manhole covers but by construction scaffolding as well. more ›

It's a phrase that's become too familiar: Yesterday, a worker died in a construction accident. According to the Daily News, Miguel Rodriguez, 38, fell five stories from his scaffolding: "Rodriguez was wearing a harness, but it was not tethered to the W. 111th St. building in Morningside Heights where he was repointing bricks, witnesses and officials said." In Brooklyn, a worker was injured when he fell three stories at a site--he was not wearing his harness. Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri said, "These things should never happen. If you're a construction worker, be safe, wear your harness and tie your lifeline." Just last week, a crane rigger fell 40 stories--he, too, was wearing a harness but it was not attached to anything. more ›

A woman walking on 8th Avenue near 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan was hit on the head by a falling brick. WABC 7 reports the victim, a 17-year-old, was taken to St. Vincent's in stable condition around 8 a.m. Also, one business owner claims a construction worker tried to clean up the bricks, rather than help the victim: "The crowd screamed at him and told him to leave the bricks because he was trying to move the evidence." Another area resident said he's seen falling bricks and other residents say they avoid walking under the scaffolding. more ›

When the weather outside is frightful, the risks are likely predictable--in high-wind weather anyway. Early yesterday evening, witnesses report that wooden planks broke free from a crane and crashed onto Spring St. at the new Trump SoHo building, reportedly crashing atop several cars. A collapse of steel from a crane at the WTC site early last week crushed a construction trailer where an architect was seriously injured when pieces of steel demolished his workspace after falling dozens of floors. more ›

Yesterday's gusting winds caused quite a bit of damage besides providing more winter chill. Building scaffolding was knocked over in many places, a tree pinned a man in NJ to the ground, and windows and/or debris fell from two Manhattan skyscrapers, hitting pedestrians. Winds were reported to be at least 40MPH, with gusts at 50MPH, yesterday (wind advisory was in effect until this morning at 4AM). The Buildings Department had asked property owners and construction... more ›