{"id":20120,"date":"2023-07-29T14:19:54","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T21:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/new-york-city-crane-collapse-linked-to-company-and-operator-with-history-of-safety-violations\/"},"modified":"2023-07-29T14:19:55","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T21:19:55","slug":"new-york-city-crane-collapse-linked-to-company-and-operator-with-history-of-safety-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/new-york-city-crane-collapse-linked-to-company-and-operator-with-history-of-safety-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City crane collapse linked to company and operator with history of safety violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NEW YORK \u2014 As authorities continue to investigate a crane collapse that rained thousands of pounds of steel debris onto a busy Manhattan thoroughfare Wednesday, the owner and operator of the failed crane are facing scrutiny over past safety failures.<\/p>\n

The tower crane, owned by New York Crane and Equipment Corp., was hoisting concrete to the 36th story of a luxury highrise when a fire broke out in the machine\u2019s cab, officials said. The flames burned through a cable holding the crane\u2019s arm in place, sending the 180-foot-long boom crashing to the ground.<\/p>\n

Though no one was seriously hurt, the near catastrophe stirred memories of past crane collapses, including a series of incidents involving people connected to Wednesday\u2019s incident.<\/p>\n

Two of the city\u2019s most disastrous crane collapses came over the span of two months in 2008, both involving cranes owned by New York Crane and Equipment Corp. Nine people died, pushing the city to overhaul its process of inspecting and regulating tower cranes.<\/p>\n

Later that year, a\u00a0construction\u00a0worker fell to his death while helping dismantle a crane owned by a different company. One of the two crane operators, whose license was suspended for eight months, was Chris Van Duyne. The same man was operating the crane that caught fire Wednesday, officials said.<\/p>\n

Phone messages left with Van Duyne and New York Crane were not immediately returned Thursday.<\/p>\n

The fire\u2019s cause is still under investigation. In the meantime, neither the crane company nor its operator have been publicly accused of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

As officials await answers, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, the head of the council\u2019s committee on housing and building, said it was troubling that a crane company cited for past safety failures was once again linked to a major incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt raises concern that a company that has a history of injuries and fatalities onsite is continuing to do business in the city of New York,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy do they still have a license?\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the consecutive collapses 15 years ago, New York adopted a series of stringent crane requirements that go beyond those of other states, according to industry experts.<\/p>\n

Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Center for Building in North America, said the regulations \u2013 which require multiple city-specific licenses and high insurance liability \u2013 have the unintended consequence of keeping new companies from entering New York\u2019s market, effectively allowing a small number of players to dominate the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrane collapses are not that frequent, so if multiple high-profile accidents happen with the same company, it doesn\u2019t reflect well on them,\u201d Smith added. \u201cYou have to wonder if we\u2019re not keeping out more competent operators and firms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded by James Lomma \u2013 known locally as the \u201cKing of Cranes\u201d \u2013 New York Crane and Equipment Corp. has long been one of the city\u2019s top crane providers, helping to build the Hudson Yards development and the new World Trade Center.<\/p>\n

But the Queens-based company has also faced a series of criminal and civil actions.<\/p>\n

In March of 2008, one of the company\u2019s cranes toppled on Manhattan\u2019s east side, pulverizing buildings on the way down and fatally injuring seven people. Prosecutors blamed that incident on shoddy work by a crane rigger, but a jury acquitted him of manslaughter charges after his lawyer argued that bad welding and other factors were to blame.<\/p>\n

Two months later, another Lomma-owned tower crane collapsed in the city, killing the operator Donald Leo and a\u00a0construction\u00a0worker, Ramadan Kurtaj. Investigators blamed that collapse on a busted bearing, manufactured by a Chinese company that had warned Lomma it did not have confidence in the product.<\/p>\n

Lomma was acquitted of manslaughter charges, but he was sued by the workers\u2019 families and ordered by an appeals court to pay $35 million for a series of \u201cwonton and egregious\u201d decisions that led to the collapse. He filed for bankruptcy soon after, and he died in 2019. The company is currently managed by Sal Isola, who did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

In 2004, New York Crane and\u00a0Construction\u00a0Corp. faced allegations of poor maintenance after another worker, Glenn Gonnert, fell to his death from the mast of a crane.<\/p>\n

In court papers, the victim\u2019s son said the incidents were due in part to defects that caused oil to leak from the crane\u2019s motor, creating a slippery surface that allowed his father to fall to his death. The company denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n