Posted Sep 17, 2008, 10:55 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New York City
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Stop Work order issued
Work stops at Bank of America building after glass falls from 50th floor.
New York Times
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/glass-pane-falls-from-bank-of-america-tower/
Quote:
September 17, 2008, 3:50 pm
Glass Falls Again From Bank of America Tower
By Sewell Chan
Bank of America buildingThe Bank of America building, center, overlooks Bryant Park. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)
Updated, 6:34 p.m. | Sidewalks and traffic around the new Bank of America Tower, diagonally across from Bryant Park, were closed this afternoon after glass fell from the 50th floor of the skyscraper at 1:55 p.m., according to police officials and eyewitnesses. It appeared that no one was injured, although emergency medical workers treated a person who apparently suffered a seizure at the scene. It was not clear if the seizure was related to the falling glass; the man was not struck by the glass.
Police officers closed off the Avenue of the Americas between 42nd and 43rd Streets, and diverted traffic to other north-south avenues. It was the latest in a series of building-related accidents at the 54-story tower, at 1111 Avenue of the Americas, at the northwest corner of the avenue’s intersection with 42nd Street. The building has been described as one of the most environmentally sensitive modern structures to be built in the city.
“I saw the glass fall,” said Ana Contreras, 40, a roasted-nut vendor who runs a stand at 43rd Street and the Avenue of the Americas. “I was sitting right here.”
“There were small pieces of glass that fell there, there and there,” she said, pointing at various spots around her. “It all happened in three seconds.”
Ms. Contreras said she was seated on a milk crate under an umbrella next to her vending cart and was unafraid as the shards of glass fell around her.
On Aug. 12, a 1,500-pound, floor-to-ceiling glass panel plummeted more than 50 stories from the tower and onto a covered sidewalk shed on the other side of 42nd Street. It was the second time in recent months that a sheet of glass had dropped onto that intersection.
On Oct. 17, 2007, eight people on the ground were injured when a bathtub-size steel bucket full of debris fell from the roof of the building, banging along the side of the building and trailing a shower of glass and metal as it crashed to the street 53 stories below.
John P. Gallagher, a spokesman for the Tishman Realty and Construction Company, which managed construction of the skyscraper, said in a statement:
At approximately 2 p.m. today, a few small pieces of broken glass were reported on the ground around Grace Plaza on 6th Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets. Upon further inspection, it was determined that the glass fell from the 50th floor of the Bank of America Tower across the street. At the time of the incident, no work was being conducted in the area where the glass originated from. There are no reported injuries. Tishman Construction is cooperating fully with FDNY, NYPD and the Department of Buildings to make sure the area in question is secure and to determine the cause of the incident.
A spokesman for the Durst Organization, the developer that built the skyscraper, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tony Sclafani, a spokesman for the Buildings Department, which was investigating the accident, said a stop-work order was issued for work on the exterior of the building.
“The construction operations happening on the exterior of the building is stopped right now,” said Mr. Sclafani. He said it was too early to say whether citations would be issued to Tishman Construction.
“Right now we are investigating,” he said. “We are still there.”
Al Baker and Martin Espinoza contributed reporting.
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