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Crane Accident at Midtown Hotel Site Kills Construction Worker

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Just before noon today, a crane accident at a construction site on East 44th Street resulted in the fall and subsequent death of one worker (h/t Gawker). The site, at 219 East 44th Street as per CBS, is where New York's 35-story Even Hotel is rising. Media has flocked to the scene, and it sounds grisly. The FDNY has not yet officially stated what caused the accident. In an ironic twist to this tragic accident, on Wednesday the Wall Street Journal published a story on the startling regularity of construction accidents. Most prominently, a pedestrian died after being hit by a piece of plywood blown off from a Greenwich Village condo development. Even so, when you include the risk to workers as well as bystanders, the problem intensifies:

The hotel is designed by Peter Poon and developed by Raber Enterprises. The most recent building permits were issued on March 12, 2015. Here's the Department of Buildings filing on what'll be inside the hotel.

Reporters at the accident scene are documenting what they see on social media. Warning: slightly more graphic tweets below.

· Around New York Building Sites, a Little-Known Threat [WSJ]
· Accidents coverage [Curbed]
· Construction Accidents coverage [Curbed]