March 2008 Manhattan construction crane collapse

On March 15, 2008, a crane owned by New York Crane & Equipment collapsed at 303 East 51st Street on 51st Street in Manhattan, New York, United States. Seven people were killed and 24 others were injured.^[1] It was a luffing-jib tower crane manufactured by Favco that was 200 feet tall at the time of the collapse. The accident occurred when workers were attaching a new steel collar to anchor it to the building at the 18th floor, as part of an operation to extend the crane upwards.^[2] Investigators say the prime suspect is a $50 piece of nylon that broke while lifting a six ton piece of steel.^[3]

The owner of Crave Ceviche Bar sued the owner of his building on 2nd Avenue because of their plans to demolish the building due to damage from the crane. The building owner claimed that the damage was irreparable and must be demolished in order to rebuild. Crave’s owner hired real estate attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey to represent him in this matter. Bailey eventually forced a settlement of over $1 million, allowing the owner to continue business by giving him the chance to open in a different location.^[4]

Deaths

• Wayne Bleidner, 51, of Pelham
• Clifford Canzona, 45, of New York City
• Brad Cohen, 54, of Farmingdale
• Santino Gallone, 37 of Huntington Station
• Anthony Mazza, 39, of Staten Island
• Aaron Stephens, 45, of New York City
• Odin Torres, 28, of Miami^[5]

Affected areas

Damaged Buildings

300 East 51st Street/956 2nd Avenue. This is a 19-story mixed use building with 119 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. A small portion of the 13th and 14th (top floors) at the north east corner of the building have collapsed where the crane mast came in contact with the building.

301 East 50th Street/944 2nd Avenue. This is a 6-story residential building with 20 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. Portions of the roof and top two floors have collapsed due to the crane mast hitting this building.

305 East 50th Street. This was a 4-story mixed-use building with 4 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. This building has completely collapsed.

306 East 50th Street. This is a 3-story mixed-use building with 3 dwelling units. A steel beam from the crane penetrated this building and caused damage to the middle of the building.

308 East 50th Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 3 dwelling units. The same steel beam that damaged 306 East 50th Street from the crane penetrated this building and caused damage to the side the building.

311 East 50th Street. This is a 14-story residential building with 111 dwelling units. There are some small holes in the western foundation wall which is adjacent to 305 East 50th Street which are allowing water to seep into basement. At this time, DOB inspectors have not noted any structural damage to this building.

954 2nd Avenue. This is a 4-story mixed-use building with 6 residential units and commercial space at the street level. This rear of this building sustained damaged.

Evacuated Buildings

• 301 East 50th Street/944 2nd Avenue. This is a 6-story residential building with 20 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level.
• 306 East 50th Street. This is a 3-story mixed-use building with 3 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level.
• 308 East 50th Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 3 dwelling units.
• 310 East 50th Street. This is a 3-story residential building with 1 dwelling unit.
• 311 East 50th Street. This is a 14-story residential building with 111 dwelling units.
• 300 East 51st Street/956 2nd Avenue. This is a 19-story mixed use building with 119 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level.
• 306 East 51st Street. This is a 4-story residential building with 1 dwelling unit.
• 308 East 51st Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 3 dwelling units.
• 310 East 51st Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 5 dwelling units.
• 311 East 51st street. This is a 4-story residential building with 7 dwelling units.
• 312 East 51st Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 5 dwelling units.
• 314 East 51st Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 5 dwelling units.
• 318 East 51st Street. This is a 3-story residential building with 1 dwelling unit.
• 320 East 51st Street. This is a 2-story residential building with 1 dwelling unit.
• 322 East 51st Street. This is a 3-story residential building with 2 dwelling units.
• 324 East 51st Street. This is a 1-story residential building with 2 dwelling units.
• 954 2nd Avenue. This is a 4-story mixed-use building with 6 residential units and commercial space at the street level.

Street closures

• East 56th through East 53rd Streets, closed to cross-town traffic
• Second Avenue between East 57th and East 48th Streets
• East 51st Street and E 50th Street between First and Third Avenue remain closed

References

New York City portal

1. ^ The New York Times, March 16, 2008: "Crane Collapse in Manhattan Kills at Least 4"
2. ^ "Crane collapse in New York City". 2008-03-25. http://www.gostructural.com/article.asp?id=2788. 
3. ^ Seven dead, 24 injured in NYC crane collapse
4. ^ Timeout New York, February 26, 2009: "Crave Ceviche Bar Still On the Ropes"
5. ^ Miami Woman 1 Of 7 Dead In NYC Crane Collapse - Local News Story - WTVJ | Miami