TIMES SQUARE — Three people were hurt when wind blew down scaffolding near Times Square Friday morning, the FDNY said.
A strong gust blew down pieces of plywood and the frames supporting them near Seventh Avenue and West 40th Street about 10 a.m., an FDNY chief at the scene said.
"It was one big boom. It sounded like a construction crew doing a demolition," said David Johnson, who works as a fire safety director nearby.
"The rain and the wind came through and then all the pieces started coming down like dominoes," said Kenny Bush, 28, who was working on a construction site across from the scaffolding.
Bush and a group of about two-dozen others ran over to lift the scaffolding and free a woman bleeding from her head, he said.
"We all lifted it up and there was a woman under there screaming," Bush said. "We dragged her out and then started looking for other people."
The woman was put on a stretcher and taken to Bellevue Hospital, Bush and officials said.
He said he saw another man with a large cut on one hand. That man and another person were also taken to Bellevue, the FDNY said.
They were not seriously injured, the FDNY said.
Officials with the Department of Buildings said that the structure was assembled improperly and issued a stop-work order at that address. The building owner 151 West Associates LLC was cited for construction not incompliance of approved plans and safety violations.
A complaint for unsafe scaffolding was reported for the work site, 561 Seventh Ave., last year, but investigators did not issue a violation because the structure was being dismantled when they arrived, according to DOB records.
With strong winds predicted Friday morning, the Department of Buildings advised property owners and contractors to take precautionary steps to avoid such incidents.
"Property owners must consider the safety of their buildings and construction sites, including cranes, suspended and supported scaffolding, hoists and any other building appurtenances that may come loose from exposure to high winds," the DOB said.
"If sites are not safely secured, the Department will take immediate enforcement action with the issuance of violations and Stop Work Orders if necessary," their statement continued.
The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory Friday morning as a Pennsylvania cold front was expected to push winds through New York City, with winds forecast to reach up to 60 miles per hour.
"Right around 10 a.m. and slightly aftwerward, we had winds reported 40 or 50 miles per hour around the city area including Central Park," said a National Weather Service spokesman, Tim Morrin.
The wind advisory was rescinded about 11 a.m. as the winds tapered off, Morrin said.
