Feds, council want tougher crane oversight

Federal officials hope to persuade a union of crane operators to accept court-appointed monitors that would tackle corruption and mob influences. The recent attention on the crane industry has highlighted some of the stickier factors of city construction, such as payoffs, corruption and limited city oversight. The city council held an unusual hearing yesterday on a new package of safety bills. The new measures would require structural inspections of certain buildings, training courses for crane operators, and restrict the use of nylon slings in crane operations. It would also mandate routine monitoring of concrete operations. [NYT] and [Post]