Stuck Crane Dangles Load Near NYC's Carnegie Hall

(AP) Stuck crane dangles load near NYC’s Carnegie Hall
By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press
NEW YORK
A swath of a major New York City street is closed while authorities try to fix a crane that malfunctioned while hoisting a heavy square of construction material.

It’s the same residential construction site where a crane collapsed during Superstorm Sandy.

A construction supervisor says he isn’t certain if the crane is the same one that broke in the storm. Adding urgency to Monday’s situation is that it comes during a tornado watch and a high-wind forecast.

Five blocks of West 57th Street in midtown Manhattan are closed as the crane’s boom points downward with its load dangling near Carnegie Hall. It’s about 40 floors up.

City emergency managers said around noon that the load would be lowered manually. That could take hours.

The closure has created gridlock in parts of Manhattan.