Results tagged “collapse”

          

Click on the film stills for more details and reviews for this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Precious, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Fourth Kind, A Christmas Carol, The Box, Collapse, Turning Green, That Evening Sun, And Now For Something Completely Different, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Everything's fine! However, earlier this afternoon a crane struck a piece of scaffolding at an Upper West Side rental building that is under construction. The location was 775 Columbus Avenue, part of the new Columbus Square complex, and the Real Deal is reporting there are no injuries, "but emergency personnel were on the scene, making sure the crane was secure. It was not clear at press time what caused the collision."

With the year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse—and the subsequent global economic meltdown—approaching (September 15, 2008 is when Lehman filed for bankruptcy), there are plenty of stories from ex-employees. The Post says "a number of former Lehman employees in its fixed-income, emerging markets and other banking areas will be heading to various watering holes and clubs near Lehman's former Midtown headquarters on Sept. 15, for events that promise to be equal parts networking, reminiscing and working to erase that terrible chapter of their careers"—so consider that a warning! A former mortgage securities broker now admits to the NY Times, "I have blood on my hands," but thinks others are more responsible for the downfall ("regulators, senior executives, rival firms and traders who believed that their elaborate computer algorithms insulated them from risk"). And the Daily News notes that Famous Famiglia pizzeria, right near Lehman's headquarters, had to lay off five of 27 employees.

Bloomberg News has a long article looking at Lehman Brothers' collapse last year, reporting that Lehman executives actually predicated in the memo to government officials, "Massive global wealth destruction... Impacts all financial institutions... Retail investors/retirees assets are devastated." But apparently the banking executives gathered by Treasury Secretary Paulson and then-Federal Reserve Bank of NY (and now current Treasury Secretary) Geithner were thinking about themselves; former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain tells Bloomberg News, "The discussion among the CEOs was ‘How do we prevent the next firm from going under?’ There should have been much more discussion about the impact directly on the markets if Lehman went bankrupt." Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co., "the world’s largest bond-fund manager" remembers, "I remember at the end of the week calling up my wife and saying, 'Jamie, go to the ATM, go to the cash machine, and take cash out.' She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I don’t know whether the banks are going to open tomorrow.’" And some believe the government hasn't learned the lesson, by allowing banks to stay big or get bigger without a thorough regulatory process.

Brooklyn Navy Yard's doomed Admiral's Row just suffered another devastating blow—but this time it was delivered by the hands of Mother Nature, not Mayor Bloomberg. Yesterday's rain storm helped in further destroying one of the former residences (known as Building C) along Flushing Avenue, which collapsed (at least partially) from water damage. Of course, the building would have been torn down at the hands of man anyway, to make way for the almighty supermarket. Curbed has some photos from the scene.

The owner of the 153-year old, five-story building on Reade Street that collapsed yesterday morning had been cited for numerous violations by the Department of Buildings over the years. In 2007, inspectors discovered a 15-foot-long crack and a section of a wall in danger of collapse, but the Times reports that owner Aharon Vaknin never addressed the violation. And in April the department received five separate complaints about the building's landmarked facade, including one just days ago warning that it looked unstable. On Tuesday, Vaknin began installing structural supports to the building, per DOB orders; he'd originally planned to build a boutique hotel behind the crumbling facade, but the recession stalled the project. According to the Tribeca Tribune, Vaknin had recently submitted plans to partially demolish the very section of the building that collapsed. But it seems gravity and neglect took care of that for him. Last night the DOB razed the remaining portions of the structure in a controlled demolition, and the department is investigating whether the construction of a planned six-story, 63,000 square-foot condo at 77 Reade St contributed to the collapse.

Over two years after putting Brooklyn's 140-acre Starrett City complex on the block, its owners have thrown in the towel and will no longer look for a buyer for the country's largest subsidized housing development. The NY Times reports the group of investors "cited the faltering economy and a lack of financing as the reasons" but "the sale may have foundered over price." In February 2007, there was a $1.3 billion offer, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development squashed the deal. Last year, owners decided to sell the development in a way that would keep it affordable, which attracted a number of bidders with non-profit entities and this past September, there were four finalists in the bidding. One of the bidders' spokesman told the Times, "We weren’t prepared to offer a higher price that jeopardized either long-term affordability, or a commercial return." Which makes sense—that Riverton deal is looking bad...is Stuy Town next?

The widow of a probationary firefighter plans to sue the city for $10 million, accusing the FDNY of implementing a more strenuous physical regimen than other FDNY classes had undergone in the past. Sherita Sears, an NYPD officer, says her husband Jamel Sears, 33, died during training last November because instructors were pushing him too hard in order to weed out minorities. The FDNY was sued two years ago for allegedly discriminatory hiring practices; Sears's class included the most minorities in the departments history, with more than a third of the 297 members either black, Hispanic, Asian or female.

                            

Here are our picks for the top stories that affected NYC and our state this year. It's been a eventful year.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey is under hospital observation after collapsing during a speech last night.

Last night a reader wrote in to tell us about an evacuation at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink Pier. She wrote, "We were just in the middle of an intense hockey game at Chelsea piers, the sky rink pier, when rink management came running out to immediately evacuate the building. Why? Because the PIER IS COLLAPSING!!!" Another person wrote on Contribute, "Chelsea Piers Sky Rink shut down due to to structural damage from a boat." A call to the Piers didn't yield many details, but they confirmed they were closed until further notice. The website also states that "the West Rink is closed for repairs," and will also be closed for all of Labor Day weekend.

Dozens of families that occupied approximately 30 apartments in an East Harlem apartment house found themselves out on the street yesterday, with what little belongings they could gather together as they were hustled from their homes. The Dept. of Buildings condemned the structure on 2nd Ave. and 120th St., noting that several partitions had recently been removed from the building's basement, causing the building's floor to sag in a sign of potential imminent collapse.

If you're wondering what the hell's going on in Hell's Kitchen right now, reader Ed writes in to tell us that around 12:45 p.m. the water tower on top of the now defunct Sony Studios building on 54th & 10th, blew over.

During a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said, "I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance. Whether somebody could have done a better job — I’m trying to — whether they could have done a better job I just don’t know."

Two cats living in an apartment completely destroyed by the Midtown crane collapse have been found and reunited with their owners. The recovery of Mr. Gloves and Gooksie was in no small part due to the efforts of Gini Otway, a neighbor who also volunteers at the animal rescue and adoption organization City Critters.

The crane collapse last week that killed seven people showed just how weak the enforcement of safety rules and building codes are in New York City. In addition to the inspector who was arrested for faking a report on the inspection of the crane that collapsed on the East Side, engineer Jose Vargas was arraigned this month for failing to complete a final inspection on a discount store in the Bronx. The building collapsed unexpectedly during a fire in 2006, killing two firefighters. The Buildings Dept. is conducting a review of 29 other buildings that Vargas never signed off on.

Just a days before the Florida primary, someone gave the New York Times a 1998 NYPD memorandum advising Mayor Giuliani that the department felt locating the city's emergency command center in 7 World Trade Center was not a very good idea. The eight page memo was written by a panel of police experts with help from the Secret Service. Its conclusions were overruled by Giuliani and the command center was destroyed on September 11 as the building where it was located burned and then collapsed.

A well-known ruin is crumbling. According to Roosevelt Island Historical Society president and historian Judith Berdy, part of the north wing of the Smallpox Hospital collapsed about a week ago. She writes, "The rest of the north wing especially the front is in danger of coming down any time... [The Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation] is working with TPL, the Southpoint park developers to find a way to do emergency stabilization of the rest of the building... Please encourage RIOC to do all possible to save the rest of the building."

Most of the injuries occurred to people's legs and several fans were taken to Hackensack Medical Center for treatment, although the hospital wouldn't disclose the extent of anyone's wounds. According to NJ.com, however, two people suffered scrapes and bruises, one person fractured a bone, and two other people had more extensive and serious injuries. WNBC has video.

When the weather outside is frightful, the risks are likely predictable--in high-wind weather anyway. Early yesterday evening, witnesses report that wooden planks broke free from a crane and crashed onto Spring St. at the new Trump SoHo building, reportedly crashing atop several cars. A collapse of steel from a crane at the WTC site early last week crushed a construction trailer where an architect was seriously injured when pieces of steel demolished his workspace after falling dozens of floors.

The Daily News and NY Times have some updates on 74 Grand, the landmarked residential building that sank into the ground after a rainstorm in 2004. The would-be tenants are still battling their way through the court system, and one of them never even got to sleep in her $1.6 million loft.

The architect who was in the construction site trailer crushed by 14,000 pounds of steel that fell 25 stories from a crane may never walk again. Doctors believe Robert Woo was likely paralyzed; his mother said, "He might not walk again...I've been telling him he's lucky to be alive." It is amazing Woo is alive - seeing photographs of the site, it's incredible he survived - but given the amount of construction and development ongoing in the city, we're alarmed as well.

Architect Robert Woo is hospitalized but in stable condition today after the construction trailer he was working in was crushed by a load of falling steel that a crane dropped. The crane was elevating the steel at the site of the new Goldman Sachs building at the World Trade Center. The accident occurred yesterday morning when a nylon sling snapped and seven tons of steel fell 25 stories. Woo was the only person injured in the incident at 200 Vesey St. He was pulled from the wrecked trailer dazed and bleeding from his mouth.