Falling Crowbar Smashes Taxi, Injures Driver Near Upper East Side Construction Site, Officials Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A crowbar fell from the construction site of an Upper East Side high-rise development, smashing the windshield of a taxi on the street below, a Department of Buildings spokesman said.

City investigators were at the site, at 200 East 59th Street near Third Avenue, the spokesman told Patch. It wasn't yet known if the worksite had committed any violations.

The taxi that was hit by the metal crowbar just after 9 a.m. Thursday. Its windshield was cracked and it had a dent in its roof. The driver of the taxi was taken to New York Presbyterian hospital with unknown injuries, according to DOB reports.

The high-rise building under construction is a planned 35-story residential tower with space for up to three floors of retail business, according to plans filed with the city Department of Buildings. When complete, the building will contain 67 apartment units, according to the plans.

The building plans list an unnamed LLC as the owner, but the building is a planned Macklowe Properties development. Macklowe is the same developer behind 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential tower in the United States.

Based on Macklowe's development history, the size of the development and interior renderings — it's safe to say that 200 E. 59th St. will be a luxury apartment building. With 99,891 square feet zoned for residential use, an average apartment in the building will be nearly 1,500 square feet in size.

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This article will be updated with more information.

Photo by Patch