303 East 51st Street

The original design for the skyscraper was a 40-story building that stood {{convert|470|feet|m}} tall. On December 19, 2007, during the building's construction, the developer decided to scale up the building slightly to 44 stories for 117 residential units and {{Convert|504|ft|m|abbr=on|0}} tall. It was only a few months later that the crane collapsed and construction was halted.

Construction at the site was completed in 2015. The finished building, the Halcyon Building, has 32 floors and its street address is 305 East 51st Street.

On March 15, 2008, a crane owned by New York Crane & Equipment collapsed during construction. Seven people were killed and 24 others were injured.{{cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/nyregion/16collapse.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 16, 2008 |title=Crane Collapse in Manhattan Kills at Least 4}} It was a luffing-jib tower crane manufactured by Favco that was {{convert|200|feet|m}} tall at the time of the collapse. The accident occurred when workers were attaching a new steel collar to anchor it to the building at the 18th floor, as part of an operation to extend the crane upwards.{{cite web|url=http://www.gostructural.com/article.asp?id=2788|title=Crane collapse in New York City|date=March 25, 2008|website=GoStructural.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029194010/http://www.gostructural.com/article.asp?id=2788|archive-date=October 29, 2008}} The OSHA investigation determined that the Favco instructions for lifting a stabilizing collar to the ninth floor level were not followed, using only half the number of polyester slings recommended. The overloaded slings failed, causing the collar to drop and dislodge two lower-level collars from the building. This left the crane without any lateral support, allowing it to topple.{{cite web|url=https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/2008_r_02.pdf|title=Investigation of the March 15, 2008 Fatal Tower Crane Collapse at 303 East 51st Street, New York, NY|date=September 2008|website=Occupational Safety and Health Administration|format=PDF}}

Before the crane accident, New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) had already issued 13 citations for safety violations at the construction site, two of which were considered serious violations. The DOB and Mayor Michael Bloomberg later stated, to the ire of local residents, that the infractions were normal for a project of that scale.{{Cite web|title=BEHIND SITE'S UNLUCKY 13 VIOLATIONS|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03172008/news/regionalnews/behind_sites_unlucky_13_violations_102324.htm|first=Brian|last=Hamacher|first2=Austin|last2=Fenner|first3=Leonard|last3=Greene|date=March 17, 2008|access-date=May 20, 2008|work=New York Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319024912/http://www.nypost.com/seven/03172008/news/regionalnews/behind_sites_unlucky_13_violations_102324.htm|archive-date=March 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}

Furthermore, after 311 registered a complaint stating the crane had become structurally detached from the building, the DOB scheduled an inspection for March 4, 2008, a little over one week before the crane collapsed. On March 4, a DOB inspector filed a report stating that no safety violations were identified at the site; however, the inspector was later charged with falsifying a report after it was determined that no inspection took place on March 4. The DOB commissioner stated that, even if the site had been inspected on March 4, the collapse would not have been prevented because the crane was in a different position at the time of the collapse.{{Cite web|title=Crane Collapse Arrest |url=http://curbed.com/archives/2008/03/20/crane_collapse_arrest.php |publisher=Curbed.com |access-date=May 21, 2008 |author=Joey |date=March 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409151807/http://curbed.com/archives/2008/03/20/crane_collapse_arrest.php |archive-date=April 9, 2008 }}

In the wake of the crane accident, the owners of a 2nd Avenue building that was damaged when the crane collapsed were planning to demolish the building when they were sued by the owner of Crave Ceviche Bar, a tenant of the building, in response to those plans. The building owner said the building had sustained irreparable damage and it therefore must be demolished so the owner could rebuild. The building owner settled the lawsuit and a settlement of over $1 million was agreed upon, which allowed the owner of Crave Ceviche Bar to reopen in a different location and therefore continue his business.{{cite news |url=http://newyork.timeout.com/restaurants-bars/the-feed-blog/107902/crave-ceviche-bar-still-on-the-ropes |work=Timeout New York |last=Fish |first=Charlie |date=February 26, 2009 |title=Crave Ceviche Bar Still On the Ropes|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921181118/http://newyork.timeout.com/restaurants-bars/the-feed-blog/107902/crave-ceviche-bar-still-on-the-ropes|archive-date=September 21, 2011}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/03/15/nyregion/0315-CRANE_index.html Slideshow] of the collapse scene
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/nyregion/15cnd-crane.html?em&ex=1205726400&en=006d38ddece7c8f5&ei=5087%0A]
• [http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-crane0320,0,2199490.story]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/nyregion/18crane.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/nyregion/17building.html?scp=5&sq=303+east+51st+street&st=nyt]

{{Midtown East, Manhattan}}

Category:2008 disasters in the United States

Category:2008 industrial disasters

Category:Construction accidents in the United States

Category:Disasters in New York City

Category:Skyscrapers in Manhattan

Category:Turtle Bay, Manhattan

Category:Second Avenue (Manhattan)