Pia Hofmann is unhappy this Monday morning that demolition of Ground Zero’s Deutsche Bank building, the last major remnant of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack didn’t progress fast enough the week before to “jump down” her 320-ft-tall tower crane by 70 ft.
“Your depth perception is difficult when you’re this high up,” says the union operating engineer, who has run the Australian-made luffing jib crane since March 15 at the damaged structure, helping to painstakingly dismantle it floor by floor. Working in Manhattan’s high-rise construction is a challenge a minute, even at 6:30 a.m., but Hofmann doesn’t forget to ask “the guys” about their weekends.