MANHATTAN — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new regulations Saturday to promote crane safety, two days after a crane collapse in TriBeCa killed one pedestrian and injured three others.
De Blasio said all crawler cranes, defined as cranes with tracks, must now be secured when winds are forecast to consistently exceed 20 mph or when wind gusts are forecast to exceed 30 mph. The base fine for failing to comply with the regulation will be raised from $4,800 to $10,000, de Blasio said. Previously, 30 mph was the requirement, not 20 mph.
Friday’s collapse occurred as a work crew moved to secure a 565-foot crane on Worth Street in the face of 25 mph winds, a decision de Blasio said was correct.
Additionally, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Transportation, the NYPD and the FDNY have been tasked with ensuring that pedestrians do not walk in areas where cranes are being secured, de Blasio said.
David Wichs, 38, was killed on Worth Street when the crane came down.
De Blasio also said residents and businesses will now be informed whenever cranes are being secured, in addition to when they’re being installed.
Finally, the mayor announced the creation of a task force that will study Friday's collapse with an eye toward drafting additional regulations and best-practice models related to crane safety. The task force will report back after 90 days.
Over the past 10 years, multiple recommendations concerning crane safety were put forth by the Department of Buildings, but a 2014 audit by City Comptroller Scott Stringer found that only 12 percent of the suggestions had been enforced.
On Sunday, a funeral for Wichs, the man killed in Friday’s collapse, took place at the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, as reported by The New York Times.
At the service, Wichs, who studied mathematics at Harvard University before taking a job with Tower Research Capital, was described by his wife, Rebecca Guttman, as “the happiest person I ever met.”
Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito said Sunday that Worth Street will remain partially closed for one or two days this week while the city repairs water main damage caused by the collapse.
