EXPOSED

Forbes: Crane Company Is Shady

Before the crane dangled, Extell was immoral.

That the precariously dangling crane atop a luxury building on Manhattan’s 57th Street is a project from Extell Development isn’t a surprise to Forbes editor Randall Lane, who had disastrous dealings with the developer five years ago. Lane is careful to say that Extell contracted the construction on the 57th Street building to another company, but “destructive corporate culture also somehow correlates with accident/incidents.” He had been working with Extell, which began selling new luxury developments in 2002, on a charity event in conjunction with several magazines he was running. Extell never paid Lane’s party the money it was owed—nor did it pay any of the charities. “Extell has one of those corporate cultures where promises aren’t promises," he says, "and where accidents somehow tend to happen.”