Window Work Stopped at NYC Tower after Glass Falls 27 Floors

According to the New York Times, City officials have stopped window-replacement work on a midtown Manhattan skyscraper after a 300-pound panel of glass plummeted from the 27th floor.

No one was hurt in the accident at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street. The glass hit a structure protecting the sidewalk shed and crashed onto a van, scattering shards as far as 100 feet.

The mishap came amid heightened anxiety about construction accidents in New York City. Seven people were killed when a crane toppled across a Manhattan block last month.

The glass fell from 1096 Sixth Avenue, an office building under renovation. A spokesman for project manager Tishman Construction Corp. says a 4-by-8-foot panel broke as workers were manoeuvring it into place.

Spokesman Richard Kielar says Tishman is working on a new procedure for removing window panels.