NEW YORK – A swath of a major New York City street is closed while authorities try to fix a new problem with a construction crane whose boom dangled dangerously nearly a year ago during Superstorm Sandy.
A construction supervisor says 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 is closed as the crane's boom points downward with its load dangling near Carnegie Hall.
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, with traffic jams extending toward Times Square, about 15 blocks to the south.
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