New York, NY —

City officials say the federal government is considering new regulations that could greatly diminish the city's authority over regulating cranes. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez has more:

REPORTER: Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri testified in front of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday. He told officials that while many of OSHA's proposals will modernize 40-year-old crane rules, one provision would pre-empt city and state authority and take away the ability of city inspectors and engineers to regulate cranes.

LiMandri said that without a full time OSHA staff to police cranes, it would be left up to the construction industry to monitor itself. He called that a grave mistake. His remarks came during a public hearing held by OSHA before it enacts new rules. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.

REPORTER: Last year nine people died in two separate crane accidents in the city. Since then, the city's Buildings Department has instituted a series of new rules aimed at strengthening crane regulations.