NYC parking garage 'structural' collapse injures 5, kills 1
Rescue officials arrive at the scene to assess the damage of Tuesday afternoon's dramatic collapse. Credits: Ben Von Klemperer via Storyful, New York City Mayor's Office, and WNYW
The New York City street where a parking garage collapsed, killing one person and resulting in five others pulled from the structure, remained closed a day later Wednesday, as investigators have yet to disclose the suspected cause behind the building reportedly with four active violations suddenly caving in by Lower Manhattan's Financial District.
At a press conference Tuesday, NYC Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik described how drone footage showed how the four-story building on Ann Street, between Nassau Street and William Street, "all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor."
He acknowledged that an active violation on the building dated to 2003. The buildings commissioner said an application was filed in 2010 but did not indicate whether the violation was corrected. There are some active permits on the building, one related to electrical work on the premise, Vilenchik added, promising more details at a later time.
"Our engineers deployed and currently checking adjoining buildings and observing footage from drone pictures to identify possible reason for collapse," he said. "We are going to continuously review and research property profiles to understand history of the building, certificate of occupancy, and all other records and I will update this information."
NEW YORK CITY PARKING GARAGE COLLAPSES, LEAVING MULTIPLE PEOPLE INJURED, 1 DEAD
NYC Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Mayor Eric Adams, and others address the media after a building collapse on Ann Street. (NYC Mayor’s Office)
NYC Department of Buildings records show that the parking garage located at 57 Ann Street had 19 violations that had been completed or defaulted on and another four that remained open, requiring a certificate of correction. WABC reported that the same parking garage, owned by 57 Ann Street Realty Association, based in Great Neck, New York, had 64 violations with the Department of Buildings dating back to 1976. Fox News Digital reached out to the buildings department on Wednesday seeking clarification.
Firefighters work at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage in the Financial District of New York, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito told reporters at the scene that there were six workers in the building when the garage collapsed around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile from the New York Stock Exchange.
A partially collapsed parking garage in Lower Manhattan's Financial District on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Charlie Franklin via AP)
Four of them were transported to the hospital in stable condition. One person died, and another refused medical attention. He detailed how a couple of the concrete slab floors collapsed, crushing some of the cars that were inside, prolonging operation. FDNY believed everyone was accounted for but still continued to check if anyone was inside the cars.
FDNY firefighters respond to a parking garage collapse on Ann Street. (NYC Mayor’s Office)
Both Esposito and New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted a robotic dog and drones were sent into the structure when firefighters had to be pulled out.
"This was an extremely dangerous operation for our firefighters. We responded to a call of a collapse in the building. We had firefighters inside the building conducting searches. The building was continuing to collapse. We made the decision to remove all our people from the building," Esposito said. "We deployed our robot dog into the building, they were able to give us a video inside, and then we were able to fly our drones inside to conduct an assessment and conduct searches."
This photo provided by Charlie Franklin shows the partially collapsed parking garage in Lower Manhattan's Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Charlie Franklin via AP)
"The great part of that is we're able to use the technology to get information and reconnaissance without putting our firefighters' lives and our first responders' lives at risk," Esposito added.
Esposito said one worker trapped on the upper floors was conscious and alert enough to move around and call for help. Firefighters pulled him out across the roof to another building.
NYPD Keechant Sewell said a nearby Pace University building was deemed unstable and evacuated after the parking garage collapsed.
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE: FDNY personnel carry a person on a stretcher away from a parking garage collapse, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
"At this time, we have no reason to believe that this is anything other than a structural collapse. Obviously, that investigation will continue," Sewell added.
Vilenchik also said the certificate of occupancy for the building was issued in 1957 to be used as a parking garage. Plans for work were filed in 2010 for the installation of an auto lift. Adams stressed how the buildings department would be conducting an assessment to determine if any active violations against the garage remained.
NYPD and FDNY personnel cordon off an area in New York's Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, near the site of a partially collapsed parking garage. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
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"All of that will be part of our review. We didn't have any filed 311 complaints on the building. And as the acting commissioner of DOB indicated, it is always going to be part of the review exactly what happened here, if there was no open violations on the structure," Adams said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the NYC medical examiner's office Wednesday, seeking the identity of the deceased.
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