Woman killed by plywood blown off building in Flushing

NY Post

A flying piece of signage from a Queens produce market struck and killed a 67-year-old Long Island woman Thursday morning, police said.

The woman, identified by police as Xiang Ji of Westbury, was walking outside 41-28 Main St. in Flushing about 9:45 a.m. when she was struck by what city building officials described as “an aluminum-covered plywood panel.”

The panel was part of a vertical sign that authorities believe was blown off the building’s roof by gusting winds.

Firefighters later removed the remainder of the sign.

Police from the 109th Precinct said cops responded to several 911 calls from the scene and found Ji “unconscious and unresponsive.”

She was taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital, where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Building department investigators were dispatched to the scene and issued the property owners a violation for “failure to maintain building in a code compliant manner.”

“Following our full investigation, we will take aggressive enforcement actions against responsible parties as warranted,” the officials said in a statement. “We have ordered the owners to immediately erect a sidewalk shed around the building.”

The owners of the building, Kam Kee Realty Inc., have 18 open violations at the site, including for illegal work without a permit and “unpermitted business signs,” building officials said. The company could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Council blows a lot of hot air over wind turbines

From Crains:

The City Council will consider a bill Monday to standardize wind-turbine installation on rooftops as part of a suite of green legislation wending its way through the chamber.

Currently, anyone who wants a turbine must apply for a special permit from the Department of Buildings, which is notorious for bureaucracy.

"As anyone who's dealt with [the department] knows, even the most garden-variety projects can often ensnare you in endless strands of red tape," Councilman Costa Constantinides, a Queens Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said in a speech earlier this year. "When you add cutting-edge technology on top of that, you're only complicating it further."

The legislation would standardize the process so property owners would know exactly what to do and inspectors would use the same set of criteria to judge every project. The idea is to help make the city more energy-efficient.

A complementary Constantinides bill would require officials to create a wind map showing where these devices would work best.

Solar panels tend to be more cost-effective small-scale power generators, but not all rooftops are conducive to their installation, creating an opportunity for wind.

Small wind turbines can be used to generate modest amounts of power as well as make a statement about renewable energy, but they are nowhere near the top of the list in terms of potential to make the city greener. Reducing power consumption of buildings, which account for nearly three-quarters of the city's greenhouse-gas emissions, provides the biggest payoff. Large-scale wind farms can also move the needle; the state's Energy Research and Development Authority is working on a plan for turbines off the coast of Long Island.

Far Rockaway houses are a do-over

From NBC:

Two luxury houses under construction in Queens collapsed on Tuesday, with witnesses suggesting wind gusts from a raging Nor'easter could be to blame.

The houses were in the 700 block of Jarvis Ave in the Far Rockaway section. The FDNY tweeted that all searches were negative for injuries and the situation was under control.

Twisted metal framing and snapped wood gave testament to just how strong the wind was, with gusts of more than 40 MPH striking parts of the tri-state.

A neighbor told News 4 New York that the houses had been under construction for more than a year.

Crappy building materials can't withstand wind

From DNA Info:

Strong winds tore pieces of the facade off a luxury building that opened to renters just three years ago on Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street on Monday afternoon, the FDNY said.

Several FDNY companies responded to a 2:56 p.m. report of "Styrofoam-like debris" raining down from 278 Sixth St., which is right next door to FDNY Engine Company 239's firehouse, an FDNY spokesman said.

In addition, a Fresh Meadows gas station collapsed and trees came down:

Stay safe out there!

From PIX11:

A wind advisory is in effect throughout the tri-state area, where wind gusts could reach up to 50 miles per hour or higher and cause power outages Monday.

Winds blowing down limbs, trees and power lines are among the chief of concerns listed in the advisory, as well as isolated power outages. These winds will also make driving difficult, and light-weight outdoor objects such as patio furniture should be properly secured.

The New York City Department of Buildings issued a warning to builders, contractors, crane operators and property owners to secure their construction sites, buildings and equipment due to the high-powered winds. They will performing spot-check inspections of construction sites around the city. If sites are not secured, the department will issue violations and stop work orders.

DOB may lift ban on crawler cranes

From Crains:

In the wake of the Feb. 5 accident, which cost 38-year-old David Wichs his life and damaged four buildings when the crane's boom crashed down along the north side of Worth Street, the city's Department of Buildings prohibited crawler cranes, which can be driven around on tank-like treads, from operating in sustained wind speeds topping 20 miles per hour.

Now a working group that was established to review the city's crane rules in the wake of the crash has recommended lifting that emergency ban. The requirements would revert to what they were before the accident: Cranes have to stop work when wind speeds hit either the manufacturer's specification, or 30 miles per hour at the maximum.

Should the city adopt the new temporary measures, it would appease construction firms, crane companies and workers, who had complained that the 20 mile-per-hour limit was forcing them to shut down so frequently that it was wreaking havoc on their business without necessarily improving safety.

But the working group, which had been criticized for lacking crane experts, also recommended two other measures as part of its proposal. One would require that an operator be on site for crawler cranes unless the crane is designed to operate in 30-mph or stronger winds or is in storage mode. The other would prohibit crawler cranes from being used in public areas if the machines can't safely withstand 20-mph winds.

Be careful out there today!

From DNA Info:

Two pedestrians were injured when the sign at a large discount store in Brooklyn fell from the building's facade Sunday morning.

The victims, who were not identified, were both rushed to Kings County Hospital in serious condition after being struck outside of the Fulton Street shop at 11 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

The sign was completely stripped off the storefront of M&S Bargain Hunters at noon on Sunday at the shop, which is located near Bedford Avenue.

Who needs a permit?

Crane collapses in high winds

From WPIX:

High winds from Hurricane Sandy's approach damaged a large crane atop the 75-story skyscraper One57, leaving it dangling at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan as gusts from the massive storm begin to whip up.

Police are evacuating the area between Fifth and Eighth Avenues around 57th Street in anticipation that the arm could crash to the street. The arm of the crane, usually aimed skyward, has been doubled backward and is hanging limply with broken support beams jutting from all sides.

With wind speeds now approaching 90 mph as Sandy ramps up, it would be dangerous for workers to attempt to secure the crane at the top of the building.


A site in Williamsburg was also felled by the wind.

What happens when you build cheap

From WG News:

Great fanfare accompanied the groundbreaking of Northside Piers/Palmers Dock on July 13, 2006, with the attendance of some of the city’s top brass, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Deputy Mayor for Economic Development & Rebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff, State Assemblyman Vito Lopez, former Department of Housing Preservation & Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan, Department of City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, and Toll Brothers Division Vice President David Von Spreckelsen. Von Spreckelsen was quoted as saying at the event, “We are thrilled with the opportunity to participate in the revitalization of the northern Brooklyn waterfront made possible by the hard work of the Bloomberg administration in accomplishing this important re-zoning.”

Some units have had water infiltration which has resulted in the untenable condition of mold growth. In addition, many owners complained that the full-view windows that were installed, do little to keep wind and water out of their units which increases use of heat in the winter, and air conditioning in the summer, both of which run on electricity. This certainly makes our friends at Con Edison very happy, as I was shown the electricity bills for many residents averaging over $400 dollars a month.

Many owners are claiming that the hardwood floors that were supposed to be in the units, are actually cheap engineered wood that scratches and warps easily.

Another owner wrote that a unit has repeatedly flooded with sewage in their home causing mold to develop in their and the adjoining unit. Owners also stated that the exterior of the building is a danger because of exterior metal cladding falling off the building.

Wind spreads fire in Laurelton

From Eyewitness News:

Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire in a row of homes in Laurelton, Queens.

The fire broke out at about 4:30 p.m. at 225-06 Mentone Avenue.

High winds caused the fire to spread quickly to four other neighboring homes.

12 firefighters suffered burns but are in stable condition.

No civilians were injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Police did find a badly decomposed body inside a nearby home as they were evacuating people in the area.

The investigation is ongoing.

More trees topple during windy weekend

From WPIX:

Neighbors on 215th Street in Hollis, Queens are calling it the attack of the old green giants. Some of the towering trees that beautify their block, threatened their very lives while carving out a path of destruction.

"It's so weird because first our house then our best friends house," Tyna Williams told PIX 11 News. "Kind of creepy."

Already weakened by last month's tornado, and the nor'easter earlier this week, some trees couldn't withstand Friday's heavy winds gusting up to 45 miles an hour. Two of them came crashing down and branches went flying.

Saturday morning, just as cleanup crews were carting away the downed tree, another one nearby snapped and ripped off part of Steve Crawford's roof.

Neighbors want the city to be aware that more vulnerable trees could topple.

Wind 1, Window 0

From the NY Post:

Violent gusts of wind yesterday blew out windows from the 52nd floor of a luxury apartment building in Midtown, sending glass and debris raining onto the street.

The window, about 30 by 30 feet, crashed to the ground at 4:25 p.m. from 117 East 57th Street. Magician David Copperfield lives in the building but in another apartment.

No one was hurt in the building or on the ground.

About an hour earlier, bricks fell from the roof of a Harlem apartment building.

Officials were trying to determine if the wind -- which reached as high as 60 mph -- caused the incident.

Have there been increased incidents of bricks and windows committing suicide?

Also, a tree limb fell on a man's shoulder in Flushing, Queens, at around 1:10 p.m. He was taken to New York Hospital of Queens in stable condition.

Happy Mothers Day from Queens Crap

This was the scene last night on a ledge high above Queens:

A mama hawk was protecting her babies from the wind.

The Live HawkCam can be viewed here.