West Side Spirit on Crane Collapse on West 97th St.

Crane Crushes Sidewalk Shed

No injuries reported at Columbus Square construction site

By Dan Rivoli

October 8, 2009

A crane accident on the afternoon of Oct. 8 partly crushed scaffolding that covers a pedestrian walkway at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and West 97th Street.

Department of Buildings spokesperson Ryan Fitzgibbon said it was not a major accident and there were no reported injuries. The incident occurred, she said, as workers were dismantling the crane, at 775 Columbus Ave., and a counterweight fell, damaging the sidewalk shed. The 13-story, mixed-use building was under construction and is stable, according to Fitzgibbon.

The department issued a full stop work order for the crane, and issued Environmental Control Board violations to the crane’s owner, crane operator and the site’s general contractor for failing to safeguard the public and property affected by construction operations. Work on site is continuing, however.

Photo by Andrew Schwartz

The crane was working on Joe Chetrit’s Columbus Square project, consisting of five luxury rentals and retail space at Park West Village, along Columbus Avenue between West 97th and 100th streets. Police, firemen and Building Department personnel were on the scene this afternoon, directly across from the new Whole Foods. As of 5 p.m. that day, workers were in the process of removing the crane, owned by U.S. Crane and Rigging. Atlantic Hoisting and Scaffolding, which owns the sidewalk shed, was also making repairs.

David Fuhrman, who lives on the 15th floor of 382 Central Park West, said he had filed two complaints about the crane with the department, starting on Oct. 5, before this afternoon’s accident.
“The crane operator should not be operating this crane,” he said. “It pisses me off. It could have been my building.”

City Council Member Mark-Viverito Initiates Rezoning of JHL Property on 106th Street

PRESS RELEASE

 

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
CITY HALL
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116

COUNCIL MEMBER MARK-VIVERITO INITIATES THE RE-ZONING OF
JEWISH HOME LIFECARE’S PROPERTY AT WEST 106TH STREET

Borough President Stringer, Assembly Member O’Donnell and State Senator Perkins join Mark-Viverito in announcing a plan to immediately file for the re-zoning of JHL’s property at West 106th Street to R8A/ R8B.
Monday, October 6, 2009 (New York, NY) -- New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, with the support of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell and State Senator Bill Perkins, announces plans to immediately initiate the re-zoning of Jewish Home Lifecare’s (JHL) property at West 106th Street from R7-2 to R8A/ R8B.

In 2006 the Department of City Planning entered into a rezoning process for the Upper West Side from West 97th Street to West 110th Street. The rezoning of these areas from R7-2 to R8A/R8B was done in partnership with the community in an effort to prevent future non-contextual development, create opportunities for affordable housing, and preserve the historic assets of the neighborhood. JHL’s property was included in this rezoning plan that was approved by the City Planning Commission. However, prior to review by the City Council, JHL claimed that future development plans would be overly constrained under the contextual rezoning and requested that the original zoning for its property (R7-2) remain in place. After JHL agreed to a number of non-zoning bulk controls to shape the future development, their 106th Street site was carved out of the rezoning plan.

On August 12th, 2009 JHL announced a proposal to enter into a land-swap agreement with the residential/commercial development company, the Chetrit Group. The proposal would trade the Chetrit Group’s parcel of land on West 100th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues within Park West Village for JHL’s property on West 106th Street.

“In light of JHL’s plan to enter into a land-swap agreement with the Chetrit Group, nothing short of an immediate down-zoning of this parcel to R8A/R8B is necessary. Rezoning this parcel would protect the neighborhood from the future development of out-of-context high-rise structures, and honors the original intent of the negotiations leading up to the rezoning,” said Council Member Mark-Viverito.

Borough President Scott Stringer said, “The Upper West Side community fought too long and too hard for zoning protections for us to stand by and allow Jewish Home Lifecare to exploit the carve-out they have been given. The zoning exclusion was appropriate when JHL was to be the direct beneficiary, but this is no longer the case. Now that the situation has changed we must act quickly to ensure that those living on West 106th Street will have the same protection against non-contextual development as their neighbors. That is why I support Council Member Mark-Viverito in her plans to immediately initiate the rezoning of JHL’s land at West 106th Street from R7-2 to R8A/R8B.”

State Senator Bill Perkins said "We want to insure that the community’s interests are protected and down zoning the 'carve out' is an important step towards accomplishing that.”

Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell stated “It is crucial that, as elected representatives, we take a proactive stand to protect those whose quality of life will be most impacted by development at the West 106th Street site. I unequivocally stand with Council Member Mark-Viverito as she files an application to remove the zoning exemption granted by the City Council in 2009. It is the right course of action.”