Home > News > No DOB report yet on 10/8 crane accident
No DOB report yet on 10/8 crane accident
[Photo via West Side Spirit]
October 20, 2009 - A crane accident at a Columbus Village construction site partially collapsed a sidewalk shed at 2:15 pm on Thursday, October 8, crushing scaffolding that covers a pedestrian walkway at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and 97th Street. Although a 15-foot section of the walkway was irreparably damaged, no one was hurt by the accident.
Read a news account from the Columbia Spectator.
In a press release issued that same evening, Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito promised to "request that the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) issue an open, transparent report to the public regarding today's accident, which should outline the cause of the accident and the steps they will take to prevent a similar incident's reoccurrence."
The July 2007 collapse of a retaining wall at the 808 Columbus Village construction site left the Park West Village neighborhood traumatized, and DOB's secretive response to that construction failure undermined the community's confidence in the City's willingness and ability to insure the public safety in populated areas adjoining construction sites.
Westsiders for Public Participation has called for and agreed to host an immediate open public meeting with DOB Commissioner Robert LiMandri to hear both his agency's report on the crane accident and his responses to questions from Park West Village neighborhood stakeholders.
