As Turtle Bay residents continue to move back into buildings surrounding the site of Saturday’s crane collapse, some damaged buildings still remain empty. NY1’s Anthony Pascale filed the following report.

The Department of Buildings is now lifting vacate orders on some buildings surrounding the site of Saturday’s crane collapse in Turtle Bay in Midtown Manhattan — but some damaged buildings remain empty.

Before Saturday, Joyce Munn lived on the sixth floor of a building on East 50th Street — but the Department of Buildings has not allowed her to move back since the time of the accident. She remembers vividly how she felt on Saturday when she looked outside her window and saw the crane come crashing down.

"The cab of the crane came out my window and it just dropped,” said Munn. "I'm physically okay - I'm an emotional mess. I saw it come down and I'm having flashbacks and panic attacks."

As the investigation into the cause of the crane collapse unfolds, the power of the machinery’s impact becomes more evident.

NY1 captured exclusive video of a 20-foot beam that was tossed into the air by the accident, crashing through the roof of a nearby building and landing in the kitchen, as pictured above.

"It really does look like a Hollywood movie set, as to what a place might look like after a bomb went off," said attorney Scott Claman, who represents the owner of the damaged space. The owner was in Italy when the beam came crashing through the wall, so no one was hurt.

“It's very disruptive. I mean, he was intending to come here, and now he's going to have to stay in a hotel,” said Claman. “It's so minimal compared to what’s happened to other people, but it is in his life - separate from the totality here, it's going to affect him adversely.”

Around the area where the crane collapsed, crews continue to clean up debris while sifting for pieces of the crane that may hold the answer as to what caused the accident.

Turtle Bay resident Jacquelyn Bonomo was evacuated but has since been allowed back into her home. She said she was against the construction in the area in the first place and said her worst fear has come true.

"It's destroyed the peace of mind of this entire street and I don't see how I’m going to feel secure again,” said Bonomo. “Because I can imagine they are going to continue. I wish they would stop where they are."

Construction on the nearby high-rise will not stop, but neither will area residents’ uneasy feelings.

- Anthony Pascale

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