Supervisors Charged With Assault For Harlem Crane Collapse: DA

HARLEM, NY — Two construction supervisors will face assault charges for what city officials are calling one of the worst building safety violations in recent years, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., said Thursday.

Terrence Edwards, 39 and Timothy Braico, 41, were charged with second-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment for their roles in a June mini crane collapse on a Harlem work site, prosecutors said. The collapse occurred on the construction site of an 11-story development located between Lexington and Third avenues from East 125th to East 126th streets and resulted in two workers suffering debilitating injuries, prosecutors said.

"This was one of the most appalling safety lapses in recent memory: the supervisors of this site were supposed to be responsible for safety, but instead they set in motion a reckless and potentially lethal chain of events," Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said in a statement. "Their callous disregard for safety rules, combined with a wildly overtaxed mini-crane, nearly cost several workers their lives."

Braico, who served as contractor Western Waterproofing Company's regional manager, ordered a Jekko mini crane to be delivered to the worksite in June, prosecutors said. Braico never received the permission of a Department of Buildings engineer as required by 2015 regulations of the equipment and none of the workers on the site were educated on the use of mini cranes, prosecutors said.

Just 10 days later site supervisor Edwards ordered an iron worker to use the mini crane to hoist glass panels from the building's second floor to the fourth floor, prosecutors said. The crane was overtaxed by the weigh of the galls panels and the worker operating the machinery was never educated about the crane's capacity or instructed to tether the mini crane.

Edwards ordered two iron workers —Local 580 members Christopher Jackson and Jorge Delgado — to work below the crane and guide the glass panels in place as the heavy materials were being hoisted, prosecutors said. When the crane collapsed its boom struck Jackson, causing the worker's harness to break, and also struck Delgado in the back, prosecutors said.

Jackson fell to the ground and suffered a traumatic brain injury, prosecutors said. The injury has affected the iron worker's ability to speak and to walk. Delgado suffered a spinal injury that has impaired his ability to walk and move, prosecutors said.

A third worker suffered minor injuries, officials said the day of the crane collapse.

"These defendants knowingly skirted DOB safety protocols to speed up their project, resulting in devastating, life-changing injuries for two workers when a mini crane fell from the fourth floor, catapulting one as it hurtled to the ground," Manhattan District Attorney Vance said in a statement. "As the use of these remotely operated, lightweight cranes continues to grow, contractors must ensure their workers are trained and their plans are DOB-approved."

Western Waterproofing Company, the St. Louis-based contractor hired to install the building facade, cooperated with investigators and agreed retain an independent monitor and enhance safety training for workers as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, prosecutors said.

Blumenfeld Development Group is the developer of the 11-story Harlem building that will be known as the Gotham Residential Project. The mixed-use building will contain 233 apartments, more than 127,000 square feet of commercial space and a 26,990-square-foot community facility, according to plans filed with the city Department of Buildings in 2016.

Photo courtesy Blumenfeld Development Group