If a crane isn’t lifting, it’s on its way to another job to start work as soon as site logistics allow. Seventy percent of our work is for long-term clients that require a crane for months and 30 percent is pick and runs; we do a lot of work for a pre-cast company that runs six or seven jobs every day.”

And Robert Weiss, president at crane rental company Cranes Inc., says, “While most construction sites shut down from March through June, our larger all-terrain cranes found homes during this period working on essential infrastructure projects such as bridges, roadways, and airports. I was amazed at how many times our 300 t (360 USt) LTM 1300-6.2s and 450 t (550 US-t) LTM 1450-8.1s were mobilised while most of the city was in the lockdown. As summer has rolled into fall, we’ve found that more and more work has developed for our crawler cranes - all of our large crawlers are out or scheduled to go out.” Most of this work is on infrastructure projects, as commercial and residential construction has slowed a bit because of Covid-19, and this is expected to continue in the upcoming months.

At the time of writing, one LTM 1450-8.1 is completing the rebirth of LaGuardia Airport while another one is operating at the future home of the New York Islanders hockey team – just to name two examples. “It’s really quite incredible how versatile this machine is,” Weiss explains. “Our LTM 1230-5.1s and LTM 1250-5.1s are also perfect complements to each other and help us better serve varying aspects of the New York market. While both machines have the same overall dimensions, the LTM 1230-5.1’s long boom makes it ideal for rigging work at height, while the other crane’s shorter but stronger boom makes that the perfect choice for heavy highway and civil construction. And with multiple outrigger and counterweight positions, both cranes can fit easily into constricted job sites.”

Fleet file

Demand led to U.S. Crane and Rigging confirming orders for seven additional all-terrains, rough-terrain and crawler cranes at March’s ConExpo in Las Vegas. “Our footprint is expanding rapidly,” says Petrosa. “We have three depots for cranes in the Bronx and Kingston, New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We’re working in a 300-mile circle from the centre of the city.” As space is at a premium in the narrow confines of New York City and its surroundings, the compactness of the cranes is one of the most important buying criteria for our customers working in the city. Therefore Cranes Inc.’s most recently acquired cranes are 110 t (125 US-t) LTM 1110-5.1 and a 500 t (550 US-t) LR 1500. The LTM 1110-5.1s are actually part of a four-crane order of this model, all of which will arrive by next summer. Weiss admits, “I’ve long admired Liebherr’s single engine concept and how Ehingen’s engineers utilise the weight saved by eliminating the upper engine to reinforce key load bearing elements, thus, generating models that offer superior lifting capacities within their class.”

One of the reasons why New York is such a unique crane hotbed is that The Department of Buildings’ Cranes & Derricks Unit (known better as C&D) closely oversees the design, installation, and safe operation of equipment used for hoisting or lifting purposes. The department more widely promotes the safety of all people that build, work, and live in New York City by regulating the lawful use of over one million buildings and construction sites. It requires that all cranes used for construction be engineered by a third-party professional engineering firm and that operating permits be obtained for use. In addition, the agency performs annual and onsite inspections of cranes and even prototypes all new models entering the city. The C&D also mandates that cranes used for rigging work on the outside of existing buildings be supervised by a NYC-licensed Master Rigger.

The Department of Environmental Protection, meanwhile, has specific noise and emissions regulations that must be adhered to. Further, anything larger than the LTM 1110-5.1 requires a daily travel permit from the Department of Transportation, which must be ordered 48 hours in advance and includes specific route information and surveys. This list goes on and on. Navigating this complex web requires extensive local expertise and knowledge of the system and that is something that our customers, the crane rental companies in New York, are very specialised in. And this is necessary to stay on top of this uneasy game of operating in this non-stop city.

A special market development

“It’s not easy to break into this market; we’ve been here since 1983 and the regulations are immense,” says U.S. Crane and Rigging’s Petrosa. “Our founder Thomas Auringer started the company nearly four decades ago. For Tom to get a non-union crane working in the city almost took fisticuffs — he fought for it.”

He continues, “What we’ve done in the last couple of years is streamline that process and taken us from a ‘man and a machine’ to ‘machines and a company’. Last year was our best year yet in New York City.”

U.S. Crane and Rigging sent a LTM 1300-6.2 to Erik Ekstein’s latest development in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The property is located on the corner of Broadway and Palmetto Street. Dan Mooney, sales manager at U.S. Crane and Rigging, explained that the crane has both the capacity and the reach to maximise productivity during plank installation, an important phase of the construction process. The development will comprise 31,510 m2 (103,378 sq. ft.) of residential, commercial area and community buildings. The anticipated date of completion is spring 2021.

Artisan touch

Meanwhile Cranes Inc. is playing a central role in creating a future home for the New York Islanders hockey team at the new Belmont Park Arena. The customer is A.J. McNulty & Co. Inc., a local structural steel and precast concrete erector.

It has supplied numerous cranes to the contractor erecting the precast concrete façade, from a LTM 1250-5.1 up to the company’s brand new LR 1500. Assembled in mid-September, it is operating from a 3.6 m (12 ft.) thick hardstand of gravel, on top of which are two layers of hardwood mats. All of this is required in order to reduce ground-bearing pressures. Cranes Inc. is handling large and very ornate architectural panels, all of which must be set with the utmost care. In a sense, this is the work of artisans, as the crews must have a smooth touch.

Call, “Liebherr!” in Rhode Island, to the northeast of New York, and it will not only be a mobile crane that appears on the horizon. Liebherr the dog, owned by Bay Crane branch manager Josh Wilbur, will come running. Liebherr has been owned by Wilbur almost exactly two years at the time of writing, after a chance encounter at a rescue centre.

“I was in search of a new dog,” Wilbur recalls. “My family had a dog but I wanted a more active companion that I could take with me every day. On a chance, I visited a local animal shelter and two dreams come true. When I saw her, I felt the bond instantly. Liebherr had not been there long. The caretakers of the shelter said she was a sweet dog and they were right. When she arrived home, Liebherr was reluctant to leave the car, but after some training and much love, she realised she was in a good home.”