A large metal plate being installed on a building near Columbus Circle fell and landed on the sidewalk on a busy in Manhattan on July 12.
The streets around the 217 West 57th St. construction site remained closed for hours as the FDNY assessed how to secure a two-ton load of glass, straddled between the 17th floor and a construction elevator, had gotten stuck, WABC-TV and other media outlets reported.
“It was not fully in still on the floor and partially in the elevator and it raised up so it’s between the floor and bottom of elevator on an angle,” FDNY Manhattan Bureau Commander Roger Sakovich said.
Fortunately the 4,000-pound load of glass held steady, but a large metal plate and pieces from the hoist fell 17 stories to a traffic-filled West 58th Street. The pieces missed people and cars below.
The close call is the first at the project which, when completed, will be 99 stories high and house condos, a hotel and a Nordstrom’s.
Extell, the project developer, and contractor Lend Lease also built a skyscraper next door, which had a close call during hurricane Sandy. High winds snapped a crane, leaving it dangling 90 stories above the street for several days.
Buildings Department inspectors also responded to the scene.
