Construction groups sue New York City over crane safety regulation

A group of construction trade organizers and unions filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court recently over the city’s Dept. of Buildings newly enforced rule banning cranes from operating when winds exceed 30 miles per hour.

The plaintiffs say the rule is unnecessarily hurting businesses. The filing states that the city cannot point to any engineering or scientific study that proves the operation of crawler cranes becomes unsafe when winds surpass 30 miles per hour.

The suit says the city rule actually dates back to 1968, but that it has rarely been enforced. The city began enforcing the rule after a crawler crane collapsed in the Tribeca neighborhood this past February.

That collapse, which occurred during 40 mph winds, killed a 38-year-old pedestrian. The city plans to fight to retain the rule.