hurricane sandy

One57 Crane Is Secure, Surrounding Buildings Are Reopened

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 03: A construction crane hangs off of the side of One57 November 3, 2012 in New York City. Earlier in the day, construction workers secured the crane to the side of the building. The crane was blown loose from the residential construction project during Hurricane Sandy. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
Photo: Michael Heiman/2012 Getty Images

The construction crane on top of the new luxury high-rise One57, which has been danging above Midtown since it was damaged on Monday during Hurricane Sandy, has finally been secured. The Wall Street Journal reports that on Saturday and Sunday construction workers used a hand crank to rotate the cab and crane platform until the 150-foot boom was close to the building, then tied it to the building’s concrete columns using steel cables and beams. It may take days or weeks for the boom to be cut up and taken away, but on Sunday night streets and neighboring buildings were reopened. Though some experts have suggested that the situation was avoidable, Lend Lease, the construction manager on the project, says the crane was properly prepared for the storm and in its inspection the city’s Department of Buildings didn’t find any signs of problems that could have caused the accident.

One57 Crane Is Secure, Nearby Buildings Reopened