Gothamist: BREAKING: Explosion Causes Upper East Side Building Collapse

La Leone

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:33:11 -0500

Holy crap I just checked back in & had no idea about my multiple posts! Ugh, all it said was "Internal server error" after I pressed post so I fugured it wasn't ACTUALLY posting. Sorry, so sorry!

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:56:51 -0500

I am sorry for multiple postings, but I kept getting these funky error messages about some sort of gothamist proxy server problem and they didn't appear.

Rudy

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:08:44 -0500

Does anyone have a collection of images from some of the TV coverage from today?

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:47:15 -0500

I have a collection of images from some of the TV coverage from today here.

Kojak

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 18:55:39 -0500

Cops don't go into burning buildings when the firefighters are around. Like why risk their own asses if somebody else can do it for them, and do a far better job too. The police are doing what they do best: direct traffic and eat donuts. I'm sure the plain clothes detectives are on the case anyway.

whatever

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 18:22:19 -0500

Don't think that the cops didn't do anything! While the firefighters were putting out the dangerous fires and rushing through the collapsed, smoldering building searching for people, the cops were directing traffic.

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:53:32 -0500

I have some shots of TV coverage here.

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:22:39 -0500

I have some stills from the TV news coverage here.

edEx

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:02:13 -0500

i snapped some news choppers and an NYPD chopper at eye level, but the news choppers did come out very well. if you go to my page you can see the NYPD chopper as well as firefighters fighting the blaze. www.flickr.com/photos/edstern

mh

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:59:31 -0500

It was suicidal, he wanted to die. So much for his Hypocratical Oath. I wish him well. Can you imagine trying to die or kill yourslelf but you can't make it happen. What a drag. He must feel like a loser. He just made his situation a 100 times worse. Why didn't he just give the woman the building. What ego problems.

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:57:51 -0500

I have some images of the TV coverage here.

HAS

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:20:45 -0500

The divorce was apparently quite awful, based on some of the public court papers (see link below). For the non-lawyers: the Court revised an earlier ruling on the division of property between the couple, finding that Mrs. Bartha was entitled to a larger award based on her receipt of "cruel and inhuman treatment". Amongst other things, the Court found that Dr. Bartha "intentionally traumatized" her, "a woman of Jewish origin born in Nazi-occupied Holland, with swastika-adorned articles and notes affixed around their home, and became enraged when she removed them. He ignored her need for support and assistance while she was undergoing surgery and treatment for breast cancer." Yikes. Move over, George and Martha. http://www.courts.state.ny.us/REPORTER/3dseries/2005/2005_00481.htm

nick

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:12:45 -0500

why are there no photos of the collapsed building? no news choppers or anything?

La Leone

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:24:45 -0500

Um, I just posted something that confirmed Phil's statement above. He's right on the money. But my comment appeared for one moment & then disappeared??? I work right here and a couple of neighborhood biddies stopped by & told my boss that he actually threatened his wife with some act of property destruction. The idle rich up here just LIVE to gossip about their neighbors! So now that he'Dr. Dickhead has survived they'll be a dozen gossips confirming what they heard...

La Leone

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:24:45 -0500

Um, I just posted something that confirmed Phil's statement above. He's right on the money. But my comment appeared for one moment & then disappeared??? I work right here and a couple of neighborhood biddies stopped by & told my boss that he actually threatened his wife with some act of property destruction. The idle rich up here just LIVE to gossip about their neighbors! So now that Dr. Dickhead has survived they'll be a dozen gossips confirming what they heard about him...

La Leone

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:18:31 -0500

Um, I just posted something that confirmed Phil's statement above. He's right on the money. But my comment appeared for one moment & then disappeared??? I work right here and a couple of neighborhood biddies stopped by & told my boss that he actually threatened his wife with some act of property destruction. The idle rich up here just LIVE to gossip about their neighbors! So now that Dr. Dickhead has survived they'll be a dozen gossips confirming what they heard about him...

resku mee

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:15:31 -0500

at least firemen don't ticket bicyclists. but matt long did leave a bad taste trying to sue the TWU for his accident. thankfully a judge saw that the suit has no merit and dismissed it. I told you he died from a MVA not TWU.

La Leone

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:13:07 -0500

drewo

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:07:33 -0500

Yes, NYC fire-people are very good at their jobs. They are very well compensated and have great retirement packages as well.

still wee wide

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:00:12 -0500

you're right, at least firemen don't ticket bicyclists. but what happened to matt long was an accident and the judge saw it as that and dismissed his lawsuit against the TWU. how many times do I have to tell you, death caused by MVA not TWU. jeez louise.

La Leone

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:49:31 -0500

Phil up above is right. I work in the neighborhood & I arrived (from a way delayed downtown 6 train) to find everyone stopping by to give their 2 cents. Apparently he even warned/threatened the wife about blowing up the property! I guess he did not plan on surviving & having to face prosecution. There are an overabundance of bored rich people up here that LIVE to gossip about their neighbors. I guess now I'M partaking. But it's a boring Monday & Dr. Blow Up sounds like a real creep & an asshole.

mrf

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:42:34 -0500

no one is reporting a fatility except gothamist

whatever

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:21:42 -0500

The latest news is that at least 4 firefighters were taken to the hospital. This just underscores what a dangerous job they have. These guys are always the first on the scene to help people in serious emergencies like this. I won't ever forget 9/11 when 343 firemen died trying to save the people trapped in the World Trade Center. You can't help but admire them. NYC firemen are the greatest!

Rocknrope

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:20:14 -0500

Holy mack, seeing that pleasant picture of the building intact is quite sad....

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:48:10 -0500

Yes, e-mail and any sort of on-line postings can be easily faked. Given the reports that this could all be part of a messy divorce, that means there may be a suspect. I think we will be seeing the Law & Order treatment of this in the upcoming season.

tien

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:17:32 -0500

suicide note by email? ahh, the wonders of technology.

nyc5865

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:15:19 -0500

Gothamist reported in their update that "One fatality has been reported." has anyone else heard anything ?

nyc5865

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:12:45 -0500

Gothamist reported in their update that "One fatality has been reported." has anyone else heard anything ?

S.D.

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:00:25 -0500

"WNYW is reporting that Fire commissioner Scoppetta says the doctor sent a suicide e-mail." Oh. That really sucks. Bad enough someone wants to kill themself, worse when they ant to take otehrs with them. Email is easy to fake: Hope it's not a setup!

Phil

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:00:10 -0500

FWIW: A guy I work with knows the doctor who owns the building. The doctor was involved in a financial dispute with his wife over the building and he may have blown it up to commit suicide and keep her from getting the property. The doctor succeeded in destroying the building but he survived the explosion and he's in the hospital now.

amanda

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:59:21 -0500

Apparently the doctor has survived (again, according to 1010WINS) but is injured - the fire dept. is exploring both the possibility that it was a bomb or that it was some ComEd gas leak. Either way, it's very sad. A fire fighter was badly injured and there's been some damage to the adjacent 10-story building.

mike_s

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:55:02 -0500

Anyone else reminded of The Weathermen?

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:55:02 -0500

WNYW is reporting that Fire commissioner Scoppetta says the doctor sent a suicide e-mail.

S.D.

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:50:46 -0500

Can't hear the 1010 Wins report, but Short of finding a suicide note it seems premature for anyone to call it a suicide.

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:35:37 -0500

Several sources are reporting that ConEd was investigating something next door and the fire commissioner is stating that this is a gas explosion.

amanda

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:28:13 -0500

For what its worth, 1010WINS is now reporting its a suicide - one of the doctors in the building used a bomb to blow up the building and kill himself.

Gilbert

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:03:13 -0500

Amazon A9 maps has a picture of the house. http://maps.a9.com/?mimg=686c71e27611514f65e5ef693e7e395e,1&mstr=E%2062nd%20St&ypLoc=Broadway%20%26%20W%2046th%20St%2C%20New%20York%2C%20NY%2010036&mll=40.76519656719867,-73.9695216888918,40.7587,-73.9853,40.765090714,-73.969794566

yourpalmatt

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:02:11 -0500

alright, now they say 34 east 62nd.... BARTHA, NICHOLAS MD Medical description: internal, emergency medicine also, this was there....APW Dental Services, PC W.J. Schrenk, Jr.

holmes

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:56:17 -0500

my coworker, who takes the 4/5 to work, said he heard that earlier, before the explosion, that someone had been pushed onto the subway tracks. so if the problems on the 4/5/6 line aren't related to the explosion, it could be from that.

Matt

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:53:32 -0500

Whoa - Ron Perelman lives on that block. 35 East 62nd.

Toby

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:51:45 -0500

OEM says it is not terror related

edEx

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:47:24 -0500

I have photos, from above. I have live coverage in my office, h40 stories above area — However, due to some BS firewall I cannot upload to flickr.com until this evening. DAMN!

Dan Dickinson

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:42:55 -0500

Possibly unrelated, but the 4/5 are running on the local track from 125th to Grand Central.

TJ

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:42:45 -0500

any place to watch live coverage on a Mac? if you have a PC, check out WCBSTV.com or msnbc.com

Mi

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:38:46 -0500

It seems like it is the space immediately to the right of the green arrow above. Ralph Penza says it is definitely a residence/doctor's office. When I first heard this, I thought of the UN consulates in the area. Larry King himself called CNN and said he thought it sounded like a bomb. http://static.flickr.com/61/186397515_c33fa724c4_o.jpg

DOB permitza

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:35:49 -0500

did anyone check the DOB site to see if any building permits were issued? Could be a tenant doing some renovation work (capping gas lines), but then many co-op/condo's don't allow construction work during the summer months. Still could be a rush job to finish.

rtl

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:27:20 -0500

it's three stories, and people are inside, it's a residence/doctor's office.