NYC and Port Authority Reach Deal on Crane Safety

Saturday, Mar 7, 2009 | Updated 9:15 AM EDT

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Debris is scattered on the ground at the scene of a crane collapse on Manhattan's Upper East Side at 91st Street and 1st Avenue May 30, 2008.

New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have reached an agreement to improve crane safety in the wake of deadly accidents last year.

     Both agencies said Friday that any crane or derrick on Port Authority property in the city will follow city Buildings Department safety standards. There are 24 cranes at the Port Authority-owned World Trade Center site.

Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri says the agreement is a significant step forward in making sure cranes are safely erected and operated.

As part of the deal, the Port Authority will maintain files on each crane and derrick and let the Buildings Department inspect the cranes.

Last year, nine people died in two crane collapses in Manhattan.

Neither was on Port Authority property.