A five-story building at 110 West 123rd Street totally collapsed, with the floors pancaking on top of each other. The Fire Department has at least 130 firefighters on the scene.
Building Collapses In Harlem, 130 Firefighters On The Scene
[UPDATE] Worker Killed At Brooklyn Building Collapse, Others Injured
[Update below] Around 11 a.m. this morning, a building under construction in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn collapsed. One construction worker was killed and at least three others were injured at 40 Frank Court.
[Update] Building Collapse In West Harlem Traps Three Workers, Killing One
[UPDATE BELOW] A one story commercial building collapsed this morning just before 8 a.m., according to an FDNY spokesperson. Three people were initially trapped in the collapse, which occurred at West 130th Street near Broadway. The FDNY says two people have been removed, but as of 8:40 a.m. one was still trapped. One of the victims was rushed to St. Luke's hospital in serious condition, and another is being evaluated.
Construction Worker Dies After Building Collapse, Improper Concrete Pouring Blamed
One of the workers rescued from the building collapse in Brighton Beach later died of cardiac arrest at Coney Island Hospital. The unidentified worker was one of five who was pulled out of the rubble after the five story condo collapsed during construction just before 2:30 p.m. Witnesses tell the Times the collapse was accompanied by a "thundering metal shriek that could be heard for blocks," and a concrete worker who was outside the building tells the Wall Street Journal he saw "one of the construction workers trying to run and the whole thing
started coming down like thunder. I saw slabs just come buckling down and then the screaming and the yelling."
[UPDATE] FDNY Reports "Major" Building Collapse In Brighton Beach, 3 People Trapped
[UPDATE BELOW] The FDNY says there's been a "major collapse" of a building in Brighton Beach this afternoon, and three people are currently trapped inside. A department spokesman confirms that the collapse was reported at 2:26 p.m., and first responders were on the scene in four minutes. It happened at 2929 Brighton 5th Street, but at this time it's unclear what caused the collapse and what size the building was.
Construction Worker Killed In Bronx Building Collapse
A little past noon yesterday, a building collapsed at 1173 Stratford Avenue in the Bronx. According to WCBS 2, "Officials say crews were renovating the first floor" when support columns fell. "Firefighters had to rescue one of the workers who was trapped beneath six feet of rubble. He was taken to Jacobi Hospital in serious condition." Now it's reported that the worker died.
30 Riders Onboard Bus That Suffered Harlem Building Collapse
Thirty people were onboard the BX15 bus yesterday when metal scaffolding and portions of a building's facade collapsed on it as it was pulling up to a stop at West 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. While 17 were hurt, including two police officers, all of the injuries were non-life threatening. "It sounded like the screws were coming loose," a witness who was waiting for the bus told the Post. "Then there was smoke and dust, and the next thing you know, it just came crashing down on the bus. It was awful, it looked like 9/11."
[UPDATE] NJ Parking Garage Caves In, At Least 1 Trapped
Two or three floors of a Hackensack parking garage "pancaked" at around 10 a.m. this morning. Apparently two or three people are in the rubble (their condition is unknown) and it's unclear if others are trapped. Hackensack Fire Department Lt. Stephen Lindner told NJ.com that though the cause is yet to be determined, the collapse could be due to nearby construction on Prospect Towers, an 18-story luxury high rise that towers over the garage. Here's video from MSNBC:
Acquittal In Day Laborer's Building Collapse Death
The owner of a building site at 791 Glenmore Avenue in Brooklyn was acquitted of manslaughter for the death of an Ecuadorean day laborer who died when a wall collapsed at the site in 2008. The NY Times reports that owner William Lattarulo "hired an architect to draw plans and an engineer to do periodic inspections. But rather than relying on a professional to complete the job, he chose to do it himself, and made an incorrect measurement that led to the collapse." Lattarulo was also acquitted of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
DOB Investigates Williamsburg Building Collapse
Yesterday afternoon, a three-story building at 34 Conselyea Street in Williamsburg collapsed, injuring four people—three construction workers and a passer-by who went to the scene to help. A neighbor, Jeff Wilser, said of one worker who was trapped for 20 minutes, "He was in the there up to his neck. I saw his head sticking out of the rubble. We tried to dig him out until [paramedics] showed up."
Building Collapses On Conselyea Street In Brooklyn
We hear that a four-story building at on Conselyea Street, between Union and Lorimer, in Brooklyn collapsed around 1:30 p.m. Some workers were trapped, but all have been rescued. There's a little confusion about where the collapse occurred—we were hearing it was either 31 or 36 Conselyea, but, via the Department of Buildings website, there's a complaint for 34 Conselyea today: "NYPD REPORTED A BUILDING COLLAPSED 2 WORKERS TRAPPED." (WABC 7 says it's 34 Conselyea, WCBS 2 reports 31 Conselyea, 1010 WINS doesn't give a street number.)
Huge Crack Noticed, Mott Street Building Evacuated
Yesterday afternoon, the city evacuated 273 Mott Street in Little Italty (or Nolita) because a rather large crack emerged in the building's facade. The NY Post reports the crack was three inches wide at the top of the building, "The building, which has 15 residents, and a Japanese/Thai restaurant on its first floor and apartments above, has a 20-foot tall crack in its facade that seems to have grown since last year, a caller complained to the Buildings Department." The Department of Buildings had actually issued a complaint to the building's owner on Tuesday about the crack, but yesterday the FDNY and DOB were on the scene after complaints of the building shaking. On Sunday, a four-story building, which had a substantial crack in its exterior wall, in Brooklyn collapsed, perhaps partly due to the recent rain. And EV Grieve passed by 273 Mott, where one onlooker muttered, "This is what happens when it rains for 30 straight days."
Rains May Have Contributed To Brooklyn Building Collapse
Yesterday's complete collapse of a four-story building in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn was somewhat of a miracle: Only four people had minor injuries, while firefighters, who arrived after reports of falling bricks, were still standing outside 493 Myrtle Avenue right before the collapse. City Councilwoman Letitia James told the NY Times, "If any of the men had gone in, it would have been a Father’s Day disaster." A witness from the corner described the collapse to the Daily News, "It started coming from the side, like dust. Then ... the whole thing just fell. It fell like in layers, one, two, three."
Brooklyn Building On Myrtle Avenue Collapses
A little before 2 p.m., a four-story building on Myrtle Avenue, between Hall and Ryerson Streets, collapsed in the Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy neighborhood. Vesper Bar & Lounge was on the first floor. It's considered a second-alarm "Major Emergency." Apparently the Fire Department has accounted for all people who were inside the building.
Video: Landmark Building Collapse in Tribeca
[UPDATE BELOW] Here's helicopter footage taken this morning following the collapse of a five-story building landmark building at 71 Reade Street between Church and Broadway. Channel 7 reports that first responders believe the mixed-use building to be vacant when it collapsed around 6:15 this morning, sending "debris and pieces of the building crashing onto parked cars and across Reade Street."
School Collapse in Haiti Kills 80, Hundreds Trapped
Dozens of children have died in Haiti after a school collapsed near Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital. The death toll is now reported to be over 80 and rapidly approaching 100 . The collapse took place around 10 a.m. yesterday morning in a school with more than 700 students of ages ranging from 10 to 20. A journalist with the Haiti Press Network reported that more than 200 students were still trapped in the rubble as of midnight last night and another 200 have been treated by medical staff in the area. However two of the three nearby hospitals have been shut down due to worker strikes.
Report: Fire Caused 7 World Trade Center Collapse
One of the lingering conspiracy theories surrounding the attacks on September 11, 2001 is that 7 World Trade Center, which was not hit by a plane, was deliberately destroyed (here's one example of a conspiracy website), because no other steel building has collapsed simply due to fire before. But now a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology says that the fire is the culprit.
Metro-North Service "Normal" After Building Collapse
There are some residual delays on Metro-North this morning after yesterday's East Harlem building collapse that led to the suspension of all service in and out of Grand Central. The trains' speed restrictions were lifted at 6:30 a.m. and there may be 5-10 delays.
Harlem Building Collapse Prompts Metro-North Service Suspension Service Restored to Grand Central, Expect Delays
A building collapse at 124th Street and Park Avenue has prompted the MTA to shut down all train service in and out of Grand Central Terminal. Metro-North's Dan Brucker told WCBS 880, "We don't know how long the closure will last. We have been told by the police not to have any trains run through the 125th Street station."

