Roof collapse in Astoria

From PIX11:

Crews are on scene after a building partially collapsed in Queens early Wednesday.

Fire officials received a call shortly after 4 a.m. about a partial roof collapse at a mixed occupancy one-story building on 48-15 25th Ave. in Astoria.

Authorities arrived to find the marble business' roof and front exterior wall partially collapsed.

Brooklyn & Staten Island buildings collapse

From NBC 4:

Emergency crews are sifting through rubble in search of any possible victims after a wall collapse in Brooklyn, authorities say.

Fire officials got a call about the collapse at the one-story building on 39th Street in Sunset Park around 1:45 p.m. It's not clear what caused the collapse, nor was it immediately clear if anyone had been inside at the time.

Crews are searching the rubble to be sure no one was caught; the FDNY tweeted photos that showed more than a dozen firefighters at the scene.


From PIX11:

A home partially collapsed in Staten Island early Wednesday, causing neighboring homes to be evacuated, fire officials said.

Authorities received a call at about 5:13 a.m. after a three-story home partially collapsed at 109 Sherman Ave. in St. George.

The three floors collapsed onto the first floor of the vacant home, according to fire chief Phil Solimeo.

Following the incident, two neighboring houses have been evacuated, said authorities.

How exactly does this happen?

From NBC:

Eight families have lost their homes after an apartment building in the Bronx partially collapsed, sending several tons of bricks cascading onto the ground.

Chopper 4 was overhead as firefighters responded to the Fteley Avenue building Soundview Thursday evening, with bricks and debris strewn on the sidewalk and on the street. Bricks fell with enough force to mangle the front gate and cave in the awning, with some hanging precariously over the entrance.

No one was hurt in the collapse, and the cause is under investigation. FDNY officials on scene said an occupant started some repair work but "it just looked like the age of the building, maybe weather."

Illegal demo leads to garage collapse

From PIX11:

The owner, 1771 Weeks LLC, was ordered to “repair or replace” the garage.

Unfortunately, the owner, according to DOB inspectors, “hired contractors to unsafely begin demolishing the … rear garage … without a permit.”

The allegedly illegal work went on for two weeks.

On June 15, the birthday party was planned to take place at backyard picnic tables not far from the garage at 1771 Meeks. That’s when nearby residents heard what one man described as “sounding like a gunshot.”

The garage had collapsed and bricks came raining down on an area close to those picnic tables.

“It could have been fatal,” resident Marcel Sukhlall said, if the collapse had occurred just one hour later, when the party was scheduled to begin.

FDNY and DOB inspectors rushed to the scene. A stop-work order was issued for 1771 Weeks Ave. and vacate notices were put up on three surrounding buildings.

Hey, we can't impede progress!

Close call in Bay Ridge

From CBS 2:

It happened without warning on 4th avenue near 95th street in Bay Ridge Monday afternoon. The two women were reportedly standing on the sidewalk waiting for the bus when the giant structure came down, burying one of victims and knocking down the other.

The Department of Buildings issued violations to the owner for failure to maintain the building. During their inspection, they also found an un-permitted demolition project inside and issued a stop work order.

“You can see the wood in the wood looks very old,” Bay Ridge resident Barbara Milo said while looking at the fallen awning left outside the damaged business.

The victim, who was thrown into the wall, is out of the hospital but has a concussion. The woman pinned under the debris is still in the hospital.

Brooklyn roof collapse injures 6

From the Daily News:

Six construction workers were hurt, two seriously, when a load of cinderblocks sparked a partial collapse at a Brooklyn building Tuesday morning, officials said.

The half dozen hardhats suffered head, arm and chest injuries when the roof of the Crown Heights building gave out from under them about 9:45 a.m.

One construction worker suffered a compound fracture to his left leg and needed to be carried out of the building, a source said.

“A concentrated load of cinderblocks was placed on the roof level in a concentrated area and it was too much weight,” said FDNY Brooklyn Borough Commander Assistant Chief Dwayne Cartwright. “It collapsed into the basement.”

Inspectors warn workers seconds before Fresh Meadows house collapse

From PIX11:

Half a dozen construction workers were within seconds of disaster when the sharp eyes of two building inspectors noticed the top of the Queens building was about to collapse.

Building inspectors Joseph Martucci and Johnny Mendez were examining gas lines in a house across the street when their eyes shifted to the house being renovated. They quickly spotted movement that could trap a worker.

"Suddenly the building began to shift with one worker narrowly escaping," Martucci said.

He and Mendez dashed to the site and shouted for the other workers to get out of the way.

"When I saw that coming down, my goal was to see everybody was safe," Mendez said.

Work on the 2-story house on 181st street in Fresh Meadows began at the beginning of the month and workers were demolishing a portion of the house so they could add an extension.

Investigators from the Department of Investigation were on the scene to determine if any wrongdoing was involved.

Even before a full investigation is completed, the Buildings Department has filed four violations, including failure to safeguard the site. Each violation carries a potential fine of $25,000.

Partial collapse of building near Queens Plaza

From DNA Info:

The partial collapse of an apartment tower construction site near Queensboro Plaza injured six workers Monday, authorities said.

The workers suffered minor to moderate injuries in the incident, which took place at 42-20 27th St. around 11 a.m. when crews were pouring concrete into a 20-by-20 foot form that collapsed onto the seventh floor below, according to the FDNY and Department of Buildings.

The six hurt workers were taken to local hospitals for ailments that included back, leg and arm injuries, FDNY officials said. All were in stable condition.

The DOB halted all construction and issued a violation for failure to safeguard the site, according to a spokesman.

Far Rockaway houses are a do-over

From NBC:

Two luxury houses under construction in Queens collapsed on Tuesday, with witnesses suggesting wind gusts from a raging Nor'easter could be to blame.

The houses were in the 700 block of Jarvis Ave in the Far Rockaway section. The FDNY tweeted that all searches were negative for injuries and the situation was under control.

Twisted metal framing and snapped wood gave testament to just how strong the wind was, with gusts of more than 40 MPH striking parts of the tri-state.

A neighbor told News 4 New York that the houses had been under construction for more than a year.

Bronx parking garage collapses

From CBS 2:

Dozens of cars were damaged when a parking garage in the Bronx suddenly collapsed on Sunday morning.

Collapsed concrete crushed cars inside a two-story parking garage, with the wheels of one vehicle clearly visible coming down through the roof of 3000 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.

Firefighters got the call just after 6 a.m. Sunday when part of the second story loaded with cars came crashing down on vehicles below.

One employee was inside at the time, but wasn’t injured.

The Department of Buildings ordered the structure to be vacated and issued the owner a violation for failing to properly maintain the building.

Asians now are in favor of illegal conversion bill

From Brooklyn Daily:

An Asian advocacy group that criticized a bill to prevent so-called “illegal home conversions” as racist has reversed its position and is the first Asian group to publicly support the measure. In July, Members of the Asian Community United Society said the proposal to boost fines for dicing one- and two-family homes into multifamily apartments unfairly targeted the Chinese who live in such buildings. But now the group’s director says the bill will actually protect Asian immigrants from predatory landlords.

“Initially I was under the impression that Chinese homeowners were being targeted, and we were worried about their safety,” said Warren Chan, the executive director of the society. “We need to come together because these developers are taking advantage of our community.”

The bill, introduced in June, would impose greater fines on landlords who incorrectly subdivide homes and would also let the city put liens on properties when landlords fail to pay the penalties. In its early stages, the bill created a fund for residents displaced when the city vacates illegal buildings, but lawmakers scrapped the provision, because Council does not have the power to designate such a fund.

Chan and others previously argued that the legislation would put immigrant families on the street as the city empties dangerous homes. The city raided two such illegal conversions in Dyker Heights this month, leaving nearly 40 people without a home.

But Chan now says that property owners are the real bad guys, because unsanctioned construction work exposes residents to carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical fires, and building collapse. The city must adopt a two-pronged approach — pass the bill and increase the stock of affordable housing so new immigrants have options — he said.

Build-It-Back project topples over in Brooklyn

From NBC:

A Sandy-damaged home in Brooklyn that was undergoing construction under the city's Build It Back program collapsed Wednesday, just as a family was getting ready to move back in, neighbors say.

The home at 70 Beacon Court in Gerritsen Beach was badly damaged during the 2012 storm, and was finally being repaired, according to neighbors.

It toppled over Wednesday, leaving beams sticking in the air and separating the floor from its foundation.

And how did this manage to happen?

From the Daily News:

A teetering Bronx school construction site sparked the evacuation of neighboring homes and shut down two underground train lines during rush hour Thursday morning, officials said.

Firefighters sped to the Southern Blvd. address near Freeman St. in Foxhurst just after 6 a.m. amid concerns that the new school, which is under construction, was unstable.

The building’s braces appeared to be bowing, a source with knowledge of the incident said.

First responders evacuated nine neighboring buildings. About 40 residents had to leave, officials said.

Officials from the Department of Buildings said that while it did not appear that the building would collapse, more inspections were scheduled.

Contractors pretend to inspect

From the Daily News:

In 2011, 54-year-old Ukrainian laborer Ivan Lendel died and four others were injured when several floors of a 14-unit condo building under construction in Brighton Beach collapsed on them.

The Buildings Department quickly concluded that concrete was poured improperly and the steel structure was unstable. Schneider was hired by the contractor there as a “special inspector” to make sure everything was done safely.

On Friday, the Buildings Department announced it had yanked his license, declaring that he couldn’t demonstrate that he’d performed crucial safety inspections at the site of the fatal collapse and at other jobs citywide.

Schneider, for instance, wasn’t present for the installation and testing of the pile foundation at the site and “never received or reviewed any testing reports for the installation,” the department found.

Schneider also couldn’t document inspections at “numerous sites over the past few years,” officials said.

Worker dies in Manhattan building collapse

From CBS:

One person was killed and another seriously injured when the interior of a building that was being demolished collapsed Friday morning.

The collapse took place at around 10:30 a.m. at 27 West 38th St. between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

The seriously injured worker from Northeast Service Interiors was trapped in the building’s basement for three hours.

The demolition had the proper permits. Work will stop until the city determines it can restart safely.

Building collapses in Astoria

From DNA Info:

A construction worker was injured after a building partially collapsed in Queens Thursday morning, according to the FDNY.

The man was sent to Mount Sinai Hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

The roofing gave way in the two-story building under construction at 25-26 Broadway between Crescent and 29th streets just after 10 a.m.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse and the Department of Buildings said it was still investigating the incident.

More than half of the existing building is being demolished to build a new, 6-story apartment building at the site, DOB records show.

Building collapses in Bed-Stuy

From WPIX:

A four-story building at 1438 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant collapsed suddenly around 2:30 p.m.

A person walking by the building was injured in the collapse. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.

Adjoining buildings at 1440, 1442 and 1444 Fulton Street are being evacuated as the FDNY and Department of Buildings evaluate their stability.

It’s still unclear if there are any occupants trapped in the debris.

It's criminal

From the Daily News:

The heartbreaking farewell came as detectives looking into allegations that the explosion was caused by workers illegally tapping into the gas line were preparing to bring criminally negligent homicide charges against whoever was responsible.

“This is likely going to end up a homicide case,” a high-ranking police source told the Daily News. “The DA will probably bring it to the grand jury.”

The focus of the criminal investigation is building owner Maria Hrynenko and contractor Dilber Kukic, sources have said.

Both are suspected of tapping into a gas main meant to serve only a first-floor sushi restaurant to provide heat to Hrynenko’s tenants on upper floors. Kukic is no stranger to the law. He was arrested in October for allegedly trying to give a city inspector a $600 cash bribe to make two violations on buildings he owns on W. 173rd St. in Manhattan go away.

“No one's going to be charged for doing sloppy work, but if it can be proved that someone was told to do this, then it's a criminally negligent homicide,” the source said.

Everyone from Hrynenko and Kukic to the plumber who had been working at 121 Second Ave. at the time of the blast has been grilled.

“All of them got lawyers and they're all pointing fingers at each other,” the high-ranking source said.

Lots of unanswered questions remain

From Epoch Times:

An hour before an apparent gas explosion sent flames soaring and debris flying at a Manhattan apartment building, injuring 19 people, utility company inspectors decided the work being done there was faulty.

The powerful blast on Thursday in the East Village caused the collapse of three buildings and fire damage to a fourth, the fire department said. It left four people in critical condition, more than a dozen others injured and one family searching for a loved one.

Firefighters worked through the night to put out pockets of fire, pouring large volumes of water over the rubble, a fire department spokesman said Friday morning as a steady rain fell.

He said when a building collapses it takes much longer — even days — to put out all the fire.

About 200 firefighters and medical staff remained on the scene.

The blast caused three five-story buildings to collapse within a few hours of each other, the spokesman said. A fourth, seven-story building, suffered extensive fire damage.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said preliminary evidence suggested a gas explosion amid plumbing and gas work inside the building that collapsed was to blame. A plumber was doing work connected to a gas service upgrade, and inspectors for utility company Con Edison had been there, company President Craig Ivey said. But the work failed the inspection, partly because a space for the new meters wasn’t big enough, Con Ed said.

I didn't see any permits for any type of gas line work, but I'm not sure what is required when a plumber is involved. The contractor was already in deep doo-doo before this happened.

A look inside a the Woodhaven Volunteer Ambulance Corps building

"Take a look inside the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corp, at 78-15 Jamaica Avenue, nearly two years after the collapse of the building next door (which had many open violations at the time of collapse).

The conditions of 78-19 have caused damage to the Ambulance Corp every day since it collapsed on Friday, April 12th 2013. The city finally acted after the community rallied and said they were going to tear down the rest of the collapsed building - but the building's owner George Kochabe and lawyer Elio Forcina too the city to court and struck gold when they were assigned Justice Diccia Pineda-Kirwan, who has granted the owner extension after extension.

Most people don't realize the ongoing catastrophic damage that is being done to the Corp's building - maybe this video will open some eyes and help some people realize that after 2 years, the owner of the collapsed building deserves no more extensions or breaks.

The Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a mainstay in our community for 50 years, lost their only sources of income due to this collapse - yet they are still forced to pay insurance for a building in shambles, and pay taxes to a city that failed completely to protect them.

Many thanks for all that you do,

Ed Wendell
Woodhaven"