By Carol Tannenhauser
Seven hundred gallons of diesel fuel spilled at a construction site at 36 W. 66th Street, Tuesday night at around 7 p.m., the FDNY told West Side Rag. “No injuries reported. Hazmat on scene. Leak is capped and being mitigated.”
The site is being developed by Extell Development, which won a lawsuit in May allowing it to build a 775′ residential tower there that will be tallest building on the Upper West Side.
Three eyewitnesses said the spill occurred as the crane at the site was being refueled. “Oil rained down,” a worker said. They had to shut down the street. A passerby said the air smelled like oil.
WSR has reached out to the Departments of Buildings and Environmental Protection, and to Extell Development for further details and will update when they respond.
Update, 10:21 a.m. — Here is the complete report from the Department of Buildings (DOB) spokesperson Ryan J. Degan:
Last night, DOB inspectors were called to the scene at 36 West 66 Street, Manhattan, the site of a 41-story new building project that is currently under construction, to investigate reports of a diesel spill at the work site.
Upon arrival to the scene, our inspectors observed that a fuel line for the tower crane started leaking, causing diesel to fall, landing in the sidewalk and street below.
Crane maintenance crews were able to resolve the fuel line leak last night, and the General Contractor for the work site began cleanup operations under the direction of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
With the leak resolved, and clean up underway, our inspectors found no additional hazard to the public during our inspection last night.
As a result of our investigation, DOB issued a Partial Stop Work Order at the site for use of the tower crane, and issued a violation to the contractor for failure to safeguard the construction site.
DOB inspectors are back on scene this morning, conducting additional inspections related to repairs to the tower crane fuel line.
Additional reporting by Joy Bergmann.
So tower crane incompetence.
Are we to see a return to Bloomberg era tower crane collapses?
Also, I understand a leak of a few gallons, even 50 before the pump is shut off, but 700? What company was running the fuel truck/pump?
At least under Bloomberg, the city was managed. With the tag team of DeBlasio-Adams the city is being run into the ground.
Another story of construction incompetence. And in the service of the “tallest building on the Upper West side”??? More multi-million dollar apartments, but no housing for the homeless, or any affordable housing for those folks without a gazillion dollars.
so true!
Once again the community who fought this 775′ tower-which violates the zoning laws, has an incredible amount of empty “mechanical” space inside to prop up the money views for some 120 apartments, the neighborhood is made collateral damage. Taxpaying citizens have absolutely no power in this city against developers on a bender. Now oil is raining down on us!
A building of this height is bringing the mistakes of Billionaires Row uptown into our residential communities. NOT for affordable housing but for luxury housing for foreign investment via LLC’s. There’s a term for that I’ll leave out. So because the city and state governments are on the side of or in the pockets of BIG real estate instead of its citizens, we are the fodder for this inhuman-scaled activity.
For years there existed an active, intelligent, diligent, hard working group of concerned neighbors on UWS trying to stop Extell from building, what was considered this illegal 41 story residential building. Despite our efforts as well as LandMark West proving the permits submitted to city was for a 25 story building , Extell got what it wanted with zero regard for the historical nature of the neighborhood, the outsized scale of this building, ignoring The Lincoln Center mandate to respect the area and the infamous use of VOID space to make the building taller to sell views. Next time your neighbors come calling for your support to reign in this kind of building I urge you to join in the fight. It will happen on your corner or your block too. Shame on Extell. I hope no one got ill.
Why was there no one trying to stop the 22 story Parker West building from going up on 72nd between B’way and WEA? What’s the difference between the two, other than the extra 3 floors? It was 5 years of noise and inconvenience but I don’t remember any neighborhood groups rallying against it. Just curious.
This West 66th St. tower is going to be much higher than 25 stories.
The developer massively misrepresented the height to get the permit. And then the developer won a case which tried to make sure the tower was just 25 stories.
It’s going to be 60+ stories, like the new tower on Amsterdam at West 71st.
Thanks so much for the details, I appreciate it!
A 25 story building in the neighborhood, including on West 72nd Street is and would be unremarkable.
I suppose so. I like the group of brownstones that are still intact on both sides of 72nd between B’way and WEA. When the Dorothy Parker building was sold everyone worried that they might be next.
A couple of years ago there was an article on ‘Curbed,’ titled ‘Developer Honors Dorothy Parker With Building She Probably Would Have Been Evicted From.’
I hope we’re all still here for awhile. : )
I live on 66th and it still smells of oil on the street. Looking at the big picture, maybe expensive apartments that are not owner-occupied should be taxed at a higher property tax rate.
Call 311. They will give over your complaint to the city’s environmental agency. You don’t know if it’s safe to be living in this area. Call your City Councilperson too.
That’s obscene. 700 gallons???!!! So not just visual pollution, but health risks as well. Stop this abomination on our UWS neighborhood
I hope they are going to pay for all the environmental contamination and clean up. The water needs to be tested
Calm down, no way for the diesel to get into the water mains. And its only 70 gallons.