6/27/2012
By Ivan Pereira
A crane carrying a beam at the World Trade Center slipped out of place Wednesday morning, breaking windows at one day after a worker was injured at the site.
Officials at 4 World Trade Center said the crane that was being lifted up on the south side of the building swayed, smashing a window and causing shards of glass to fall more than 40 stories to the ground.
“It like rained down from the building,” Occupy Wall Street protester Chris Guerra, 27, who was in Zuccotti Park when the accident happened.
Windows on the 45th and 46th floors were damaged, according to an FDNY spokesman, who said there were no reported injuries.
Police shut down three blocks surrounding the site as a precaution and the plaza of the National September 11th Memorial Museum was closed to tourists for the entire day.
Dozens of construction workers waited around the building while firefighters and crews fixed the broken crane and windows.
“It took a twist so they have to make sure the crane is in proper working order,” a construction supervisor who asked not to be named said.
Tishman Construction, which oversees the World Trade Center projects, did not return messages for comment by press time.
On Tuesday morning, a construction worker was impaled by a steel rod at the site after he lost his footing and fell. His injuries are not life threatening.
Pedestrians who frequent the area said they were not phased by the construction mishaps.
“This happens everyday. It’s a regular construction accident,” Kevin Anik, 22, who works in the financial district, said. (with Pete Catapano)
