(CNN) – A crane atop a luxury Manhattan skyscraper under construction partly collapsed Monday, leaving its arm precariously perched and hanging over West 57th Street.
New York police and fire crews are on the scene, and part of the street has been closed off as a precaution, according to Detective Martin Speechley of the New York Police Department.
The New York Office of Emergency Management on Monday afternoon asked all occupants of upper floors in buildings near the site of the collapse to evacuate to lower floors.
The evacuation zone expanded later Monday, covering all buildings north and south of 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, in addition to buildings on 56th Street, according to New York Fire Department spokesman Michael Parrella.
As of Monday evening, Le Parker Meridien hotel, on West 56th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, was being evacuated. Guests were being moved to another hotel, according to a concierge at Le Parker Meridien.
One57, the skyscraper under construction, is offering some of the most expensive apartments in New York, with a penthouse there recently closing for more than $90 million, according to The New York Times.
New York City is experiencing high winds, with gusts up to 60 mph, but the cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.
The city’s Department of Buildings on Sunday issued guidance that all cranes needed to be secured ahead of the brunt of Hurricane Sandy. It was not immediately clear whether that guidance was followed at One57.
CNN’s Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley and Logan Burruss contributed to this report.
