Friday's fatal crane collapse at East 91st St. and First Avenue was a horrible shock, but the sad truth is that neighborhood residents had been worried about the crane for a while.
Much like the residents where a crane on East 51st Street collapsed on March 15, damaging buildings, completely leveling a townhouse and killing seven people, neighbors near the under-construction Azure condominium (over 30 stories planned) were concerned. One woman who lives in 354 East 91st Street, a 23-story building that was damaged and evacuated due to the collapse, told the NY Times she called 311 to complain about the crane, “I was scared for weeks and weeks. It wasn’t a matter of if but when.”
Another resident (who also previously called 311 to complain) said to the Daily News, "A lot of people felt sketchy about the crane. We can put a space station into space, but we can't figure out how to make a crane safe."
For all the residents' fears, the tragedy and human toll are the cost of the city's huge building boom, which many believe is the city's future. However, some local lawmakers think enough is enough. City Council member Jessica Lappin, who represents the district of both crane collapses, said, "I don't want to hear from more constituents that they're afraid to sit on their couches," and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said, "Too many New Yorkers find themselves worried that the construction boom in New York is endangering their safety."
