Writing at my computer at my desk this morning, I began to hear helicopters. Then I realized I was hearing sirens too - lots of them. It was about 8:20AM when I turned on the radio to learn that a crane had fallen from a building six short blocks from my apartment where I am working. The collapse is as First Avenue and 91st Street and I am at First Avenue an 85th Street.

I clicked the New York Times online, where there was a bulletin across the top of the page about the collapse. A few minutes later, at 8:35AM, I returned to the NY Times where there was now a headline story on the front page. Clicking through that was a growing story posted at 8:31AM written by reporter Sewell Chan in which he mentioned that the first 911 call about the collapse was at 8:06AM. What prompted me to write this post is that - less than half an hour after the first 911 call - the NY Times was asking for citizen photographs. Chan’s report concludes with:

The New York Times is interested in reader photos of the accident; such photos should be e-mailed to cityroom.nyt@gmail.com.

UPDATE: At 9:23AM the above image was front page center on the NY Times, again with the request for citizen photos.