Regulations Implemented After Crane Incident

by | Feb 11, 2016 | News

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Photo: Courtesy of Flickr.com

In response to the crane collapse that killed one person and left three others injured in Tribeca last Friday, Mayor De Blasio has called for more stringent regulations regarding crane operations throughout the city. The crane in question is believed to have collapsed as a direct result of 25 mph wind gusts while the crew was preparing it for safety mode. Rick Chandler, the Department of Buildings commissioner told reporters that “the manufacturer clearly indicated that when you have those types of winds that it needs to be put in a safety mode, and that’s what they were doing.”
The amendments added to the city’s crane safety regulations include:

Crawler cranes will be required to cease operation and go into safety mode whenever steady winds are forecast to exceed 20mph or gusts to exceed 30mph.

Department of Buildings will send weather advisories to crane engineers when wind conditions permit.

The base penalty for failure to take necessary safety precautions when required raised from $4,800 to $10,000.

The DOT will require the presence of pedestrian traffic managers on projects operating large cranes in areas with significant pedestrian traffic.

An increase in enforcement of sidewalk and street closures related to crane activity.

Before a crane can be moved, operators will now be required to notify those who live or work in crane operating areas

In addition to these changes, the city is expected to assemble a team to continue working on the improvement of the crane safety regulations already in place.

-by James Baginski

 

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