Michael Alacha thought he was prepared for Superstorm Sandy. Days before the storm, the assistant commissioner for New York City's Dept. of Buildings made sure the agency issued wind advisories, even going so far as to require crane users to inspect their machines to ensure they were shut down properly for high winds.
Still, on Oct. 29 as Sandy blew in, the unthinkable happened. Winds near 100 mph buffeted a 1,000-ft-tall skyscraper under construction on Manhattan's West 57th Street, flipping over the jib of a tower crane like a wet noodle. Tens of thousands of pounds of limp steel, wire rope and other debris dangled precariously over midtown Manhattan.