![\"Firefighters](\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/91dPj0L9K1nMRZjVC.dMKw--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zNDI7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-10-29T201506Z_12421467_GM1E8AU0BPS01_RTRMADP_3_STORM-SANDY-CRANE.JPG\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nSome buildings, including the Parker Meridien hotel, were being evacuated as a precaution and the streets below were cleared, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.\u00a0City officials\u00a0didn\u2019t have a number on how many people were told to leave.<\/p>\n
Authorities received a call about the collapse at around 2 p.m. as conditions worsened from the approaching Hurricane Sandy. Meteorologists said winds atop the 74-story building could have been close to 95 mph at the time.<\/p>\n
The nearly completed high-rise is known as One57 and is in one of the city\u2019s most desirable neighborhoods, near Carnegie Hall, Columbus Circle and Central Park. It had been inspected, along with other city cranes, on Friday and was found to be ready for the weather.<\/p>\n
Mayor\u00a0Michael Bloomberg\u00a0said later Monday it wasn\u2019t clear why the accident happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s conceivable that nobody did anything wrong and there was no malfunction, it was just a strange gust of wind,\u201d\u00a0Bloomberg\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
Engineers and inspectors were planning to hike up 74 flights of stairs to examine the crane. The harrowing inspection was being undertaken by experts who are \u201cthe best of the best,\u201d city\u00a0Buildings Department\u00a0spokesman Tony Sclafani said.<\/p>\n
The crane was owned by\u00a0Bovis Lend Lease, one of the largest construction companies in the city. Bloomberg was careful not to blame the company, and said it would be days before officials figured out what happened.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for Bovis Lend Lease said the company was working with\u00a0city officials\u00a0to secure the structure but the weather remained severe. There was no immediate response to a message left with the developer, Extell Development. Phone numbers for several people whose names appear on permits for the crane rang unanswered.<\/p>\n
The New York Times recently called the building a \u201cglobal billionaires\u2019 club\u201d because the nine full-floor apartments near the top have all been sold to billionaires.<\/p>\n
Shannon Kaye, 96, lives in the building next door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe heard a noise, but we didn\u2019t know what it was,\u201d she said. Minutes later, she and her neighbors were told to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never liked that building, looking down into my bedroom,\u201d she said. \u201cI always had the feeling that something would come falling down from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Buildings Department had suspended work at the building at 5 p.m. Saturday. It reminded contractors and property owners across the city to secure construction sites and buildings.<\/p>\n
City Department of Buildings records show a Sept. 21 complaint that a crane at the site was leaking oil onto the roof of an adjacent building; inspectors said a loose fitting was responsible. The fitting was being repaired and a cleanup was under way by the time inspectors arrived.<\/p>\n
In April, the agency got a complaint that the heavy ball at the tip of a crane at the site came loose and hit the materials it was trying to lift, knocking some of them onto an adjacent building\u2019s scaffolding. Officials stopped work at the site for a day and issued a violation notice, records show.<\/p>\n
Construction cranes have been a source of safety worries in the city since two giant rigs collapsed within two months of each other in Manhattan in 2008, killing a total of nine people.<\/p>\n
Those accidents spurred the resignation of the city\u2019s buildings commissioner and fueled new safety measures, including hiring more inspectors and expanding training requirements and inspection checklists\u2026.READ MORE AT:\u00a0http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/crane-dangles-nyc-high-rise-clearing-streets-192109191.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Prosecutors blamed that collapse on what they called a penny-pinching repair to a crucial component that lets the boom swivel. Lawyers for that crane\u2019s owner, who ultimately was acquitted of manslaughter charges, said the operator made a mistake that tipped the boom over backward and snapped it\u2026reporting to you, Best Rachell Ann.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
TWITTER TWEET<\/p>\n
\nCrane dangles from NYC high-rise, clearing streets goo.gl\/fb\/0gahX<\/a> #headlines<\/a> #rt<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Jared Johnson (@jaredmj106) October 29, 2012<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
|\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/span>\u2013|<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/mrhodes\/files\/2012\/07\/ministop33.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n