Project Memo: Cranes (CARLSON)

CRANES (CARLSON)

Sissy Siganoff panicked after hearing of New York's March 15 crane collapse that killed eight people. This wasn't because she feared the loss of a loved one. Instead, Siganoff was reminded of when a 14-foot piece of a crane pancaked the taxi she was in less than two years ago.

Siganoff and the taxi driver are suing Tishman Construction Corp., the company that oversaw the site; New York Crane, the company which owned the crane (which, as far as I can tell, is the same company involved in the most recent collapse); and Broadway Crane, the company that was leasing the crane at the time. All of the defendants are claiming that they are "not at fault" because they say they followed New York City Building Code regulations.

Siganoff says she is disgusted that City Hall failed to impose sweeping changes to the code to prevent further accidents after her own near-death experience. With construction rates increasing in the city, there hasn't been a correlated increase in inspections -- meaning that not only have building codes remained stagnant, but there are more opportunities for tragedies like that which occurred on March 15.

It was only after this most recent incident that the New York City Building Commissioner, Patricia Lancaster (who has held this position since 2002), imposed broad changes to the way the City inspects and regulates tower cranes. Lancaster has held this position since 2002, and despite pressure from victims such as Siganoff, regulations regarding cranes were left mostly untouched during her tenure -- until now. The March 15 incident is being looked into by the Investigative Department, an office that is known for investigating cases of public corruption.

I will take a closer look into the failure of the City to implement changes following the 2006 accident and whether the recent deaths were preventable -- beyond placing the blame on the inspector charged in relation to the collapse. I also want to chat with industry insiders about the new regulations, which seem to impose a hefty onus on the inspectors (who will have to be present when a crane is installed, jumped, or dismantled) and engineers (who will have to provide a written protocol and certify the crane for use).

As I recently took on this topic, I have mostly been doing research and will be doing interviews in the coming days/week. Here are some potential sources to contact:
-Sissy Siganoff, crane collapse victim
-Howard Raphaelson, Siganoff's attorney
-Pat Lancaster, New York City Building Commissioner
-Thomas Auringer, owner of U.S. Crane and Rigging L.L.C., which conducted the first crane extension since March 15 and under the new guidelines
-Operating Engineers Union
-New York Crane
-Broadway Crane
-Investigative Department
-construction workers