JERSEY CITY, N.J. — About 1,000 residents in Jersey City, N.J., were asked to vacate their homes when efforts to right a damaged construction crane teetering over a waterfront neighborhood were suspended.

Crews stopped work until engineers from the German-based firm that built the 470-foot crane reached the site to evaluate the situation. Repairs were estimated to take several days and residents were not allowed to return until then, said Edgar Martinez, deputy police director.

City officials and the crane owner, Morrow Equipment Co., Charleston, S.C., met to devise a way to eliminate the hazard.

The crane was attached to the side of a building, which has 18 of 29 stories completed. An apparent electrical malfunction caused the crane's boom to extend too far and it began to tilt, officials said. The crane operator felt a movement, was warned by a computer that the crane was tipping and climbed to safety, according to authorities.

About 137 people were immediately evacuated from a luxury housing development and the Double Tree Club Suites hotel.