Are cutbacks making for a more dangerous City?

Manhattan was certainly not the safest place to be this weekend.


In two separate, unrelated incidents, random citizens were put in harm’s way by things that the City could have done more to prevent.

On Saturday night, a resting crane slammed into the side of a building downtown on Maiden Lane. While there were no reports of injury, part of the building’s façade fell 23 stories to the ground and at least 5 buildings were evacuated. It has come to light that the operator did not properly secure the machine before leaving for the day, causing it to tilt. The operator of the crane has had his license suspended.

Early Sunday morning, an altercation on the downtown 2 train near 14th Street resulted in the murder of two men, with a third still in the hospital. The men were stabbed multiple times with a knife as the train entered the station. The assailants escaped at Christopher Street and have yet to be apprehended.

Both incidents come at a time of increasing uneasiness in the City. Two major crane collapses in as many years have resulted in several deaths, with a court decision last week to indict crane company owners on fraud and negligence. In the subway, decreased numbers of station attendants due to budget cuts foreshadows a time of increased commuter violence.

The question remains: is the City investing enough in its citizen’s well-being and protection, or is an unstable economy forcing cuts in all the wrong places?