Plan Approved To Secure Dangling Crane Caused By Hurricane Sandy

Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the city of New York have approved a plan to secure the crane left dangling over Midtown Manhattan following Hurricane Sandy, according to a tweet from the Mayor’s Office.

The approved operation could start Friday or Saturday. It calls for a worker from the building’s (One57) construction team to rotate the entire crane using a hand crank. Once the damaged boom is facing the building and not the street, cables will be used to secure it to steel arms attached to the top of the building, according to the Wall Street Journal.

After this, a derrick would be installed to lower the damaged apparatus, while another, intact piece of equipment would be hoisted to the top of the building to replace it.

When the crane’s 150-foot long flipped over and collapsed near the top of the 1,004-foot tower Monday afternoon, panic ensued, but city authorities responded quickly, cordoning off the area, which quickly became a symbol of Sandy’s wrath.

Still, surrounding businesses and residences were evacuated and traffic was snarled.

One57 is being developed by Extell Development, who, Forbes editor Randall Lane, refers to as “the immoral developer.” Many of the multi-million dollar properties have already been purchased by foreign elites. One57’s penthouses have been rumored to be on the market for $100 million. When it opens next year, it will be the tallest building in New York.