Living in New York City can sometimes make you feel as if you are Chicken Little. There always seems to be something crashing down from above.
Fortunately, this week when a recently installed 150-foot wind turbine came tumbling down in the Bronx, no one died or was injured. However, there was a chain reaction of damage to nearby vehicles and multiple businesses had to be evacuated.
The incident occurred on Monday, Dec. 30. The turbine had only been put in place during a three-day operation that took place Dec. 11-13.
The day was marked by wind gusts at speeds of 15-20 mph, a meteorologist noted. A New York state senator at the scene had an umbrella broken by the gusts. However, as he then remarked, “a wind turbine shouldn’t be taken down by the wind.”
Mayor de Blasio said to media outlet WABC, “Thankfully we can report that there are no injuries, and everyone is safe and sound. An investigation into how this incident happened is underway.”
The wind turbine was in place but not yet activated, WABC reported. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) advised that the evacuated buildings included a pharmacy, gas station and paint store.
According to the DOB’s publications editor and deputy press secretary, The “preliminary inspection . . . found that a wind turbine affixed to the monopole structure became unstable, causing a portion of the monopole structure to collapse.”
As a result, the owner of the property received “two Class-1 violations for failure to maintain both the monopole structure and the adjacent sign.” A full stop-work order was put in place, along with an order to vacate the adjacent businesses.
If you get injured or suffer business losses as a result of negligence by another party, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses and damages.
