On Friday, February 5, 2016, a crawler crane that collapsed onto Worth Street in Tribeca killed a 38-year old man and injured 3 other people. The accident occurred while construction workers were attempting to lower and secure the crane—acts that are permitted under standard protocol. Winds neared 25 mph when the crane collapsed onto the downtown street, striking several buildings during its descent, impacting gas mains, and causing many nearby buildings to evacuate.
Following the fatal collapse, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new crane safety measures as well as increased fines for non-compliance. In addition, he appointed a new task force which aims to make New York City the safest city in the world for crane operations.
For your reference, we’ve outlined the new crane regulations below:
- New wind restrictions on crawler cranes
Crawler cranes must stop operating and go into safety mode if wind speeds are predicted to exceed 20 mph, or gusts to exceed 30 mph—and when actual weather conditions reach those levels. The previous regulation allowed for crane operation to continue until winds reached 30 mph or gusts reached 40 mph. - Increased enforcement of sidewalk and street closures.
The NYPD, FDNY, DOB and DOT will increase enforcement of sidewalk and street closures near areas with cranes in use. The DOT will require the presence of pedestrian traffic managers when large cranes operate in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. The DOB will also conduct inspections and issue violations to personnel who are not appropriately restricting pedestrian and vehicular traffic. - More notification to nearby residents and businesses
Nearby residents and businesses are now required to be notified before a crane is moved. Currently, crane operators are only required to notify residents and businesses when the crane is first installed.
The penalty fee for non-compliance with the above crane safety regulations has been raised from $4,800 to $10,000.
For further information, please contact Milrose Consultants.
