CERT in Action!
water to residents whose utilities
were damaged during the March
crane collapse.
Crane Collapses in New York City
Two crane collapses this year have left New York City residents reeling. The first collapse occurred March 15, 2008 and the second happened May 30, 2008. The massive damages included nine deaths and thousands of dollars in destroyed property.
The second crane collapse occurred on the morning of May 30th in Manhattan. "The sound was like a thunder clap. Then, an earthquake," said Peter Barba, who lives across the street from the construction site. The crane snapped cleanly in two and collided with a nearby apartment building before hitting the street. Located at 333 East 91st Street, the site which will sport a 32-story condominium was immediately reduced to a disaster area. CERT volunteers were invaluable in restoring order to the chaos.
CERT members from Manhattan Community Board (CB) 8 Upper East Side, Manhattan CB8 East Side Neighborhood Association (ESNA), and Manhattan CB6 staffed the human services reception center immediately following the incident. CERTs remained on the scene for 4 days, continuously rotating their personnel in order to provide constant assistance in the recovery effort.
Six days after the collapse, Upper East Side CERT members and ESNA CERT members again volunteered their services. The city's Office of Emergency Management mobilized these two CERT units on June 5th to help escort residents back to their homes.