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The comments there are laughable
I’m surprised they had to put a dumb looking crane on the roof of this otherwise classy building. Couldn’t they use that space for like a rooftop pool or something?
I believe that “dumb crane” is meant for window cleaning and other services needing it (they’re also found atop many modern skyscraper) 
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Right These cranes are mandatory on tall buildings. There is no other way to do maintenance work on building exteriors. They usually dip into hidden crevices when not in use. I think this one is usually not visible like it is in the posted images.
I like the vantage point of these three towers: I call this the “vicinity” view, as opposed to the “street” view, or “skyline” view. This is a recent ‘vicinity’ shot taken from Columbus Circle. IMHO, 220 CPS looks good - but 111 West 57th wins this beauty contest by a wide margin. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw2otrIuhzx/
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The crews tend to leave them up if they’re working multiple days in a row because they don’t want to spent time raising and lowering the vertical element. Usually it’s fully recessed at this building, though some buildings are really bad about tucking it away when not used for extended periods.
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