A few people got in touch to tell me that there was an alert on the Citizen App (I long ago turned those things off, but am happy that others are willing to filter for me and forward): the crane on top of 45 Park Place was swinging.

A. wrote: “I knew this thing was a menace.”

I checked in with the Department of Buildings, and the press office said that while the department was not called to the scene, the Fire Department was, and their partners there said they did not observe any unsafe conditions.

But more to the point, the crane is supposed to swing.

“Please note that all tower cranes rotate in the wind when not in use,” the press office said. “It appears that the people from the Citizen App are unaware of that fact. This rotation is known as “weathervaning” and it is a standard safety feature for tower cranes. By allowing the crane to freely rotate with the wind, the boom can move into a position so that the least amount surface area is exposed to the winds. This helps prevent damage to the crane from high wind events.”

We know from past posts that the crane is inspected regularly by the company that owns the crane, and the DOB also proactively inspects stalled sites. The last such DOB inspection was conducted in April 2025.