Harlem Residents Evacuated After Questionable Construction

At least 27 families were evacuated 305 West 150th Street in Harlem after the Fire and Buildings Departments found the apartment building to be unstable. WNBC describes the building as an "active construction site" - so active that a resident complained to the Buildings Department that the owners were trying to do demolition work, with the residents still there.

An inspection found that "floor braces were exposed" and "there was excessive debris." One report says the building is being converted into condos and it building has had a history of violations - the Daily News finds 704 open violations.

One resident, who showed the News a copy of a "construction permit mistakenly saying the building was unoccupied," asked, "How do you give a permit to a developer to demolish a building when there are people living there?" However, according to the Post, DOB says it never gave the owners a demolition permit.

Residents were worried when they were evacuated, because they had no place to go. But another resident, who was glad that the Red Cross would house them, said, "It could have been worse - the building could have collapsed." The only problem: The Red Cross only houses people for a few days.

Check out the DOB's findings on 305 West 150th Street.