Construction crane stuck in Midtown Manhattan

NEW YORK (WABC) -- An apparent malfunction left a crane's load dangling over West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan Monday.

Workers finished lowering the 13,500-pound load that became stuck in mid air around 3:30 p.m..

The crane at 157 West 57th Street site stopped moving just after 9:30 a.m., leaving its load about 20 floors in the air.

57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues were closed due to the mishap, but have since been fully reopened as of 3:40 p.m.

Officials asked Con Edison to shut off the steam lines running in the street as a precaution.

They waited until the steam line had been cut before starting to lower the load. A water line in the street was also shut off.

Nine buildings temporarily had steam service shut off by Con Edison as a precautionary safety measure.

Gas and electric services were not interrupted and there was no need for localized evacuations.

If all goes well, the entire operation should be concluded in the next couple hours.

There were no concerns about the stability of the structure and there was no danger of falling debris.

The crane appeared to be raising materials when a mechanical failure occurred and it became jammed.

This is the latest crane mishap at the construction site, the future One57 residential apartment building.

Last October, a separate crane at the same site snapped during a windstorm associated with Superstorm Sandy. The crane was safely secured, but residents in nearby buildings were forced to evacuate their homes for one weekend while it was dismantled.

One57, being built by Extell Development Co., is poised to be the city's tallest residential building. It set price records for Manhattan residences, selling one single unit for about $90 million.

No injuries have been reported.

The malfunction is causing additional concern because New York City is under a tornado watc until 5 p.m.

The Department of Buildings had issued a reminder Monday to secure construction sites and buildings due to a forecast of high winds.

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