Crane operator suspended after FiDi crash

The last man to touch the crane that crashed into 80 Maiden Lane Saturday night is getting at least part of the blame for the incident, according to the city’s Department of Buildings. Christopher Cosban, a crane operator from Huntington, Long Island who was working with the mobile crane earlier in the day, did not secure the equipment when he was finished with it at around 6 p.m., said a spokesperson for Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri. The crane, owned by Bay Crane and rented by Skylift, subsequently crashed into the Lower Manhattan office and retail property, the former Fire Companies building, at around 7:30 p.m. Cosban has been suspended from working with city cranes, pending a hearing that is scheduled for next week. The investigation is continuing, while the crane has been removed from the site and it is unclear when work will resume. [Post]