Here are some early crane shots for Central Park Tower in NYC. These are typical of New York... they're tall enough to build a few stories of the building, then they raise them 6-8 floors at a time as the building rises.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...91095&page=166
A couple months later, even the tallest one is only about 10 stories.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...91095&page=179