Debris From Construction Site Falls Onto Street In Midtown

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A street in Midtown was closed Wednesday afternoon while emergency personnel responded to reports of falling debris from a building under construction.

West 58th Street was closed between 7th Avenue and Broadway.

It has since reopened.

Witnesses told CBS2's Dave Carlin a big piece of metal came crashing down on the busy street below.

There were no reports of injuries.

Witnesses said an exterior elevator used by construction crews jammed near the 17th floor.

There were no workers inside, but some said a crate packed with materials, including windows, was lodged partway in and partway out of the elevator car, Carlin reported.

"All of a sudden, we heard this clang, and a huge piece of metal fell down -- don't know where exactly -- from the construction site," witness Phyllis Esposito said.

Investigators initially said it's possible that a drop plate fell. They are used to bridge the gap between the elevator and the building itself.

But there has been no official confirmation that anything at all landed on the street.

"I'm very cautions when I walk by construction sites," said Dorcas Leung, of Washington Heights. "Knowing that that's possible is very scary as a New Yorker."

"I'd rather not go down that block. I'd rather just go somewhere else and take the long route to wherever I need to go to drop off deliveries and do my job," Christopher Jones, of Bushwick, Brooklyn, said.

The all-clear was given later Wednesday for work to continue at the construction site.

Previous complaints about Central Park Tower include a driver who late last month said something fell from the building onto his car, Carlin reported.

CBS2 reached out to both the owner and the general contractor of the project, but has not yet heard back.