A room with a view

[samhexum]

The corner of a seven-story building in the Bronx collapsed Monday afternoon, exposing several apartments – but incredibly nobody was seriously injured, officials said.

The partial collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights took place at around 3:30 p.m., stunning onlookers at West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place who could see inside the slither of units with downward-sloping floors.

The top floor still had a bed and other personal belongings inside a room that was without half of its walls.

Firefighters searched the massive mounds of rubble for any possible victims, but fortunately there was nobody under the debris, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said Monday night.

Two civilians suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, the FDNY said.

Occupants of the 1927 building, which includes 47 residential units and six businesses, have been evacuated, the FDNY said on social media. Displaced residents were directed to a nearby school where officials would assist them.

After residents were helped out of the building, firefighters quickly turned their attention to the debris pile in front of the building with the help of its K-9 unit.

The building’s owner submitted their most recent report for the building in March 2021 that found seven unsafe façade conditions, including deteriorating mortar and cracked bricks, Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said during a press conference.

The building’s owner submitted their most recent report for the building in March 2021 that found seven unsafe façade conditions, including deteriorating mortar and cracked bricks, Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said during the press conference.

So, you've had a rough day at work, haven't watched the news, and you get off your train or bus and picture yourself just flopping into your comfy bed in your lovely corner bedroom with cross-ventilation, and...

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by samhexum
for absolutely NO @%!*ING reason at all!

[+ nycman]

[Luv2play]

If you look at the pictures you see a wooden framed 7 storey structure with a brick facade. Very cheap construction for that time, the 1920’s. It was probably a walk up as well. Maybe not but given the cheap construction I wouldn’t be surprised. 
 

My parents lived in a 6 storey 1920’s apartment building in Montreal that had cement floors between each level and concrete walls between every unit and within units. Brick on the outside. It was the style of building seen on Park Ave or 5th Ave in Manhattan. Solid as Mount Gibraltar. 
 

With buildings you have to look at what’s inside the exterior skin.

[samhexum]

Collapsed Bronx building was declared unsafe in 2020 — COVID-19 delayed repairs

[+ WilliamM]

News in Philadelphia as well. Apparently there were over a hundred violations.

 

Unusual  to discuss a NY  story in Philly 

 

 

[samhexum]

4 hours ago, Luv2play said:

It was probably a walk up as well.

nope

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by samhexum
for absolutely NO @%!*ING reason at all!

[samhexum]

4 hours ago, Luv2play said:

With buildings you have to look at what’s inside the exterior skin.

You're paraphrasing Hannibal Lechter, right?

[Becket]

3 hours ago, samhexum said:

You're paraphrasing Hannibal Lechter, right?

My favorite Lechter quote: "Was she a large girl? Big through the hips? Roomy?"

[soloyo215]

Even if the structure is up-to-code and properly maintained, that type of collapse can happen for several reasons, some not related to the structural design. The official story is failure of the column(s), but no details on if it's due to material deterioration, excessive compression from outside forces or foundations issues.

[Luv2play]

As I recall New York has had these building collapses before. And more than one. They appear out of nowhere and are not related to earthquakes or ground conditions as far as I remember. Usually poor construction and neglected maintenance. 
 

It’s shocking really given we’re not talking about a third world country or even a poor area of the country. This is and has been for two centuries the richest city in America.

Curious.

[BSR]

I'd like to know the consequences of this disaster.  Even if no one was seriously hurt (no small miracle), I hope the city slaps the building owner with a substantial fine.  I wonder where the tenants will go.   It wasn't exactly a posh building.  Finding a new place within their budgets will likely be a challenge.

[marylander1940]

It's all about neglected maintenance and lack of inspections to make sure the building is up to code. 

Unfortunately, with so many aging buildings and lack of budget these disasters will keep on happening

[samhexum]

On 12/14/2023 at 11:18 PM, marylander1940 said:

It's all about neglected maintenance and lack of inspections to make sure the building is up to code. 

Unfortunately, with so many aging buildings and lack of budget these disasters will keep on happening

New York City suspended an engineer’s inspection authority after determining that a fundamental error may have led to the partial collapse of a Bronx apartment building this week.

The state-licensed engineer made a “catastrophic” mistake by labeling a load-bearing column as a decorative part of the structure in June in plans filed with the Department of Buildings, Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. 

City officials said that the engineer had recently filed 368 inspection reports and that it was reviewing all of them.

“As part of the investigation, we are reviewing all of his filings in New York City — a total of 368 Façade Inspection and Safety Program filings in the most recent cycle — and will continue that process until it is complete.”

The Buildings Department will also re-inspect the 40 other properties the landlord owns to confirm they are safe.

The city said its investigation into the sudden partial collapse on Monday of the seven-story Morris Heights apartment building is ongoing, but that it found that the inspector had instructed contractors doing work on the property to remove bricks on the support beam, but not to install temporary supports first.