A crane atop a 31-story tower in Greenpoint bent down suddenly, forcing builders and first responders to evacuate the site Thursday afternoon.
The boom of the crane bent forward and parallel to the wall of the in-the-works residential building dubbed One Bell Slip at Commercial and Clay streets around 3:45 pm, according to authorities.
Luckily, there are no reports of injuries or any parts falling to the ground, according to a spokesman for the Fire Department, who added that nobody had to be rescued from the crane itself.
FDNY and crane inspectors with the Department of Buildings were on the scene investigating the incident Thursday evening, according to DOB spokesman Andrew Rudansky.
The developers of the building are Brookfield Property Partners and Park Tower Group, and a spokesman for the project said the crane arm came down because it “malfunctioned,” and that they are taking the incident very seriously.
“Earlier today, a crane at One Bell Slip – an unoccupied building under construction – malfunctioned and the boom came down into the crane itself. Thankfully, no one was injured. Local authorities arrived quickly to the site, and we are following their lead. Safety is our number one priority, and we take the matter very seriously,” said Andrew Brent in a statement.
According to a preliminary DOB investigation, technicians were on site doing maintenance work when the tower crane’s boom partially collapsed. No part of the crane fell to the ground and the building was not damaged by the bent machinery, the agency rep said.
DOB was still investigating the scene into the evening, working with the developer’s engineers and crane company to assess the damage and work out how to make the site safe again.
The 368-foot-tall building is part of the 10-tower Greenpoint Landing riverfront development and that structure is set to be complete in the latter half of this year, according to a report by New York Yimby.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation, according to FDNY.
