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Dangling 57th Street Crane Should be Secured by Monday, Mayor Says

By Mary Johnson | November 2, 2012 4:23pm

MIDTOWN — The crane that has dangled over West 57th Street since Hurricane Sandy walloped the city earlier this week should be secured by Monday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Friday.

That means the residents and businesses forced to evacuate the block as the storm bore down on the city will likely be allowed to return by that night, Bloomberg added.

Bloomberg said that there is a “well-studied” plan in place to secure the crane to the side of ONE57, the 90-story luxury tower that will house a high-end hotel and condos starting at $6.375 million when it opens in 2013.

The process of lashing the crane's boom to the building, near Seventh Avenue, will take about 36 hours, Bloomberg added.

Then, over the next three to four weeks, engineers will begin the arduous process of dismantling the crane.

On Thursday night, residents and hotel guests were briefly allowed back onto the block to retrieve some belongings.

The block has been empty since the arm of the crane, which was stopped near the top of the building, wrenched backward until it hung over the street below.