Upper East Side Crane Tragedy

A crane collapse on the Upper East Side this morning killed two at the Azure condo tower East 91st Street and 1st Avenue. The crane had racked up numerous violations as the building was erected, and it seems that the failure occurred where the rotating platform on which the cab sits met the crane tower.

Killed in the incident was a 27-year-old construction worker, Ramadan Kurtas of the Bronx, and the crane’s operator, 30-year-old Donald Leo (pictured left) who was born in Staten Island and lived in Monmouth, New Jersey. Leo was set to be married on June 21st.

The following streets remained closed to traffic: First Avenue between East 86th and 94th Streets; East 91st Street between York and Second Avenues; East 90th Street between Second and York Avenues.

One Brooklyn city council member has already called for the DOB put a moratorium on all crane operations at construction sites in the city until every crane in New York City is re-inspected.