By Rebecca Henely
LONG ISLAND CITY — Seven workers were injured when a mobile boom crane fell onto a construction site in Long Island City, the NYPD said.
Police and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s (D-Sunnyside) office said that at 2:30 p.m., at 46-10 Center Blvd., behind the iconic Pepsi-Cola sign, a 15-story crane hit the building under construction, which was only one story.
Of the injured workers, five were sent to Elmhurst Hospital Center while two were taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, all in stable condition, police said. The worst injury was a broken leg, police said.
The site is owned by residential developer TF Cornerstone and is set to become part of its East Coast Long Island City complex. TF Cornerstone said the work was being carried out by subcontractor Cross Country Construction and the crane was leased to them from the Maspeth-based New York Crane & Equipment Corp.
“Site safety is always our first priority as it relates to construction, and we are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities to try and determine what caused this occurrence,” TF Cornerstone said.
New York Crane’s owner, James Lomma, had been charged with manslaughter in connection with a 2008 crane collapse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but was acquitted earlier this year.
The crane operator was being interviewed and the investigation was ongoing as of Wednesday evening, Van Bramer’s office said.
Adjacent sites were not damaged, his office said.
