Monday, January 21, 2013

It's an epidemic


From the Daily News:

The sudden collapse of a 380-foot construction crane in Queens this month surprised laborers working below.

But the image of the huge device crumpled across a Long Island City construction site on Jan. 9 was depressingly familiar — part of a recent spike in crane accidents that has plagued the city, a Daily News investigation has found.

Records reveal owners who aren’t maintaining the huge machines and crane operators who aren’t using them safely.

The News found multiple examples since 2010: A laborer lost fingers because a crane job wasn’t properly supervised. A worker’s leg was crushed when a crane knocked a load of concrete onto him. A worker was knocked off his perch by a swinging load and fell 32 feet.

In the past few years, cranes have tipped over, smashed into buildings and dropped huge payloads. Operators have swung bundles of steel over busy city streets and picked up loads much heavier than their machines can handle.

And it’s getting worse.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

A big part of the problem is they are cheap made in China and India.
Like the tools you find in 99 cent stores they are are far more dangerious and less forgiving with safty however the mayor doesnt give a shit!

Anonymous said...

Is this site a Rockrose development project?

Anonymous said...

Isn't this that toxic site that was emitting a foul stench of petroleum when they began excavating it?

Wasn't it originally a refinery or fuel loading facility?

Anonymous said...

Maybe the operating "engineer" was a Chinese or Indian...who bribed his way into the union.

Anonymous said...

Blame the education system

Anonymous said...

"bribed his way into the union"
Could very well be, those racketeers take anybody as long as they get the $$ fees.
In 2013 Union labor doesn't mean squat however this cheap junk equipment doesn't belong on a job sight. A stop need to be put to it however that would slow development and upset mayor Hitler.

Anonymous said...

Yeah blame the Chinese, the Hindus, the inspectors, blah blah blah.

How about the crane owners who lend out lousy equipment to pinch a penny?

James Lomma's cranes keep toppling over, where are the Feds to investigate him?

Anonymous said...

Blah, blah, blah?

A GOOD licensed crane operator knows faulty equipment when he sees it!

Why are Lomma's cranes toppling?
Perhaps because the mob is pushing the use of his cranes!

"Hey buddy,
yousa gotta take a our jukeboxes in your diner.Eetsa good bizzineese. Tayka dem, or else"!

Anonymous said...

How about the operation of cranes inspections be strictly scheduled and enforced by the City/State. If the operator Company fails inspection tests the work must be halted and the site owner and the operating Company be heavily fined - say 50K per each incident.