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Hundreds of residents near West 97th Street and Columbus Avenue were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed last night.
The wall, at a three-block long construction site for the 808 Columbus Avenue development (which willinclude a big retail center with a Whole Foods), was next to 784 Columbus Avenue, which has 288 apartments. The "wooden" retaining wall fell, exposing 784's foundation.
784 Columbus Avenue's residents were taken to PS 163 as a temporary shelter; one told WABC 7, "I'm not surprised that this happened. I don't know what caused it but they're building or rather they're demolishing and excavating extremely close to the building." Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who used to represent the Upper West Side as an Assemblyman, told the Times, "This partial collapse has been predicted for months. There have been tremendous complaints on this site, the likes of which I have never seen.”
The Department of Buildings issued a stop work order and is investigating the collapse; the early hypothesis is that blasting may have caused the collapse. Most residents were able to return, except for those living in the corner near the collapse. WNBC, which has video of the collapse, reports that calls to the foundation contractor and construction company were unanswered.
Update: Joe Schumacher walked by the construction site earlier this week and took some photographs, including the one below. We believe that must be 784 Columbus behind that wooden retaining wall.
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they should have been put in five-star hotels and billed the contranctor...
It is not only shameful that management and construction companies give no thought to the health and welfare of the communities that surround them, but even worse that the City lets this kind of practic go on right under its nose. Both sides should be reprimanded. This kind of behavior is inexcusable.
only two comments on something that could affect hundreds (if not more), while the cop story gets all the glory. if you call racists glory.
I hope that they knock this building down and put up luxury condos.
I suppose wooden retaining walls are common in construction, but they don't seem very reassuring.
Ho-ly crap. There's far too much construction done on this island. Everything's going to cave in or sink someday.
i live in 784. a few corrections/comments:
- that is 784 behind the wall
- no residents were allowed back last nite as of 1am, except to pick up a few items (with a chaperone). i slept on a friend's floor, and many people slept in ps 163. (not 16 rooms- as many newspapers are reporting)
- the wooden retaining walls are secured with steel beams, and are bolted. once the concrete part is completed, i think that is what is used.
- rumor was that is was caused by blasting of nearby bedrock
- orginally the O and P lines (on NW and NE corners) were evacuated. then all.
i think most residents' frustrations were twofold:
1) that it happened- though, really, as a build-up to months/years of early morning/noisy construction, generally unresponsive management, rent overcharges, incompetent service personnel, etc.
2) that there was absolutely no communication during the entire process. i counted approximately 18 emergency vehicles, dozens of cops, tens of security personnel at one point. Yet, no one knew answers to basic questions- who could stay, how long, etc. However, I cop did tell me my wife couldnt enter, although i could return (b/c i was in the building already). Also, a fire chief asked a young lady was room she was in - as she was evacuating. Yet- didnt ask me. i guess i wasnt attractive (enough).
i know there is a stop-work order on the building. But, alas, the end is inevitable. The new buidings will make some money for Stellar Management ($300 million on the project (in valuation) as soon as its done!), as that is what counts.
-respect;
CoJo
The construction on this site (between 97th and 100th streets on Columbus Avenue) has been absolutely horrendous, with blasting, piledriving and jackhammering with up to ten machines at a time going nonstop from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, making daily life for the hundreds of families in the immediate area extremely difficult. The dump trucks taking the dirt out begin lining up at 6 a.m. and go past a nearby school, where there have been many close calls with children walking to school. It's hard to hear the TV or radio or even talk on the phone when the construction is going on. This project should NEVER have been approved, it is way too close to other buildings. We had a nice residential area before they started this, with some green space and small stores on one side of the street and tennis courts on the other side -- now they are starting to dig up that side of the street, too, for more horrendous high-rise buildings, again way too close to other buildings. This project should be stopped and abandoned IMMEDIATELY. It has been torture living near this site, all for buildings nobody wants, in an area which was nice before they started and which they are totally destroying with this construction project. The owners should be fined and told that they cannot build here and to take their greed and crazy ideas somewhere else.
amazing, eight posts while the Barron story will get fifty plus.
to those living in the area, sorry you had to go through this. I feel for you.
The construction on this site (between 97th and 100th streets on Columbus Avenue) has started again and even expanded and is absolutely horrendous, with blasting, piledriving and jackhammering with more than ten machines at a time going nonstop from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, torturing the thousands of families in the immediate area. The dump trucks taking the rock and dirt out begin lining up at 6 a.m. and go past a nearby school, where there have been many close calls with children walking to school. It's hard to even talk to someone in the same room while the construction is going on, which continues throughout the day. We are now looking at two enormous holes right outside our window and they keep digging, jackhammering, pile driving and blasting. This project should NEVER have been approved. They are now digging on both sides of Columbus. This project should be stopped and abandoned IMMEDIATELY. It is torture living near this site, The owners should be told that they cannot build here and to take their greed and crazy ideas somewhere else.