Another Crane Accident In Manhattan....

The city seriously needs to get this together and put in a zero tolerance policy on highrise and construction violations before more people die needlessly. If the contractor was following regulations, maybe the regulations need to be tightened. News like this makes me glad to be in Jackson Heights where it's rare to see a building over six stories tall and where cranes are uncommon. In Manhattan, which is a burrough that seems to be in a constant state of evolution, the mentality behind development seems to be that bigger is better and there are plenty of buildings, old and new, well over twenty stories.

From the AP wire...

"NEW YORK - A construction crane collapsed Friday on New York's Upper East Side, smashing into a 23-story apartment building as it fell to the ground, killing one construction worker and seriously injuring two others.

It was the second deadly crane accident in 2 1/2 months in the city, which is undergoing a building boom.

"What has happened is unacceptable and intolerable. Having said that, we do not know at the moment what happened or why," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a news conference, adding that it appears the builders followed regulations.

At a news conference, he said one of the casualties was in the cab of the crane and a second was on the street. He said he didn't know about the third person and didn't say who was killed."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Some pictures I stole from the linked article...