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Bent Crane at Downtown Construction Site Allowed to Stay, Worrying Locals

 A broken crane at 565 Broome St. was still at the construction site Monday after a neighbor made a 311 complaints over the weekend. June 26, 2017.
A broken crane at 565 Broome St. was still at the construction site Monday after a neighbor made a 311 complaints over the weekend. June 26, 2017.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

HUDSON SQUARE — Work continued at a luxury condo building in Hudson Square Monday after concerned neighbors alerted authorities over the weekend that a 150-foot crane at the site was bent, according to residents and Department of Buildings records.

The crane, which had bent and broken supports and is about a half mile from where a crane collapsed in 2016 and killed one person, was still sitting atop the construction site Monday afternoon at 565 Broome St., worrying residents that it could snap or topple over.

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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg 

“If we do get some sort of big wind storm I feel like its integrity is kind of gone, given that fact that its supports are bent and rods are broken,” said Carrie Coakley, 47, who works from home across the street at 80 Varick St. “So I feel that they should be addressing that first and foremost — getting rid of it."

Coakley said she and her family first noticed no work was being done at the site on Friday and Saturday, which she said was strange.

She then saw the crane was bent and made a 311 complaint.

"And we're just very concerned because, of course, the crane could hit our building and it's not safe for the construction workers and when there's gridlock, Holland Tunnel traffic down there, that would be horrible if anything went wrong on the construction site."

A Department of Buildings spokesman confirmed the agency received a 311 complaint and issue a partial stop work order. 

DOB inspectors issued a cease work order for the crane on June 23 after they determined a section was bent, according to DOB records

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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg 

Inspectors and engineers hired by the crane company both determined the crane was not in danger of falling and that it could be kept in its position until it was lowered and removed, the DOB spokesman added. 

There were more than 30 complaints made against the site since 2012, including one filed on May 3 for unsafe scaffolding, DOB records showed. 

A public relations firm representing developer Bizzi & Partners Development did not return an immediate call for comment.

The building, which will eventually reach 30 stories, was designed by famed architect Renzo Piano, who was also designed the new Whitney Museum of American Art