One Worker Killed, Three Injured
in Collapse at Trump Soho
Faulty crane operation may have been at fault
A corner of the 42nd and 41st floors collapsed onto the 40th at the Trump Soho today. Nick Vega
The Trump Soho, a controversial luxury hotel-condominium project under construction at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel, took a tragic turn today when, according to the New York City Fire Department, a construction worker fell 40 stories to his death after a section of the building he was working on collapsed. Another worker alongside him fell only a few stories before he landed in some safety netting. The Fire Department said he was in serious but stable condition and that two other workers suffered minor injuries.
The workers had been pouring concrete on the 42nd floor—out of an eventual 46—when the corner of the building gave way shortly before 2:00 p.m., sending concrete and debris cascading earthward. “It didn’t sound like an explosion or nothing, just like something falling apart—clank, clank, clank, splash,” said Sam Timms, a fiber-optics engineer who was working across the street. “At the end, it was like a bucket of water hitting the ground, which must have been the concrete.”
Timms said he did not see what happened but was told by construction workers who did that a large bucket that brings concrete to the roof “nonstop” via a crane clipped the corner of the building, causing a portion of the top two floors to collapse. (No construction workers or emergency responders would respond to queries from AN. “Don’t even ask, buddy,” one hardhat said when a reporter approached.)
If Timms heard right—a claim the Associated Press and Gothamist confirmed—this would not be the first instance of a wayward crane at 246 Spring Street. According to complaints filed with the Department of Buildings, the crane has either dropped loads or struck buildings once a month since September 2007, including twice in December and as recently as January 4. In each case, work was allowed to continue after brief or no delays. Calls to the department have not been returned.
The project has been troubled since 2006, even before construction began, with local preservationists, community groups, and manufacturing advocates challenging the use and scale of the project. Because the area is zoned for manufacturing, residences are forbidden, but certain hotels are permitted. The project’s critics have complained that the sale of the hotel units violates the zoning, but the city signed a restrictive declaration with the developers last year limiting owners to no more the 100 days of occupancy a year for no more than 29 consecutive days. The opposition still fears the project will prove a Trojan horse for developers in one of the few industrial neighborhoods remaining in Manhattan.
In January 2007, foundation work was temporarily halted when the bones of freed slaves, who had built a Presbyterian church on the site in the early 17th century, were discovered. It also took three tries for the Department of Buildings to certify the project’s above-ground construction permits because items like kitchenettes pushed the building too far into the realm of residential construction.
Because of the boom of New York City construction, contractors have been in short supply, perhaps contributing to a veritable avalanche of falling debris that has plagued the city in recent months. The new New York Times Building and the soon-to-be-completed Bank of America Tower (twice each) and the Goldman Sachs headquarters under construction in Battery Park City have all seen construction material and debris fall from their ramparts. And then there is the issue of the fire at 130 Liberty Street, where Bovis Lend Lease—the same contractor for the Trump Soho—was in charge. (Calls to the Trump Organization and Bovis Lend Lease were not returned.)
For Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, this has become an all-to-common occurrence. “It’s very discouraging,” he told AN at the scene, which was overrun with dozens of emergency rescue vehicles. “I feel I go to these sites all too often, from the Con Ed explosion to One Bryant Park. We have got to really figure this infrastructure out. We’re building at a rapid pace, and our system of protection has to be up to snuff and up to date. When it’s not, you see the consequences.”
Matt Chaban
Check back at www.archpaper.com for updates as this story develops.
A detail of the damage.
A bucket not unlike the one that caused the accident was used to rescue a worker trapped in safety netting.
Today's accident will be a major setback to the project, which has been racing toward completion over the past six months.