Global Courant 2023-04-19 18:20:31
The New York City street where a parking garage collapsed, killing one person and pulling five others from the building, remained closed for a day later on Wednesday as investigators reportedly have yet to reveal the probable cause behind the building with four active violations suddenly collapsing in through Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.
At a news conference Tuesday, Acting Commissioner of the NYC Department of Buildings Kazimir Vilenchik described how drone footage showed the four-story building on Ann Street, between Nassau Street and William Street, “flashing all the way, collapsing all the way to the basement.”
He acknowledged that an active violation on the building dated back to 2003. The buildings commissioner said an application was made in 2010, but did not specify whether the violation had been corrected. There are some active permits for the building, one related to electrical work at the property, Vilenchik added, promising more details later.
“Our technicians have been deployed and are currently checking adjacent buildings and observing drone imagery to identify possible reasons for the collapse,” he said. “We will continuously review and research property profiles to understand the history of the building, certificate of occupancy and all other documents and I will update this information.”
NEW YORK CITY PARKING GARAGE COLLAPSES, SEVERAL PEOPLE INJURED, 1 DEATH
NYC Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Mayor Eric Adams and others address the media following the collapse of a building on Ann Street. (Mayor of NYC)
NYC Department of Buildings records show that the parking garage at 57 Ann Street had 19 violations completed or defaulted and an additional four remaining open, requiring a certificate of correction. WABC reported that the same parking garage, owned by 57 Ann Street Realty Association, located 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 parking garage collapse in New York’s Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito told reporters on the scene that six workers were inside 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 taken to hospital in stable condition. One person died and another refused medical attention. He described how some of the concrete slab floors collapsed, crushing some of the cars that were inside, prolonging the operation. FDNY believed everyone was responsible, yet continued to check to see if anyone was in the cars.
FDNY firefighters respond to a parking garage collapse on Ann Street. (Mayor of NYC)
Both Esposito Mayor and New York City Mayor Eric Adams noticed a robot dog and drones were sent into the building when firefighters had to be withdrawn.
“This was an extremely dangerous operation for our firefighters. We responded to a call of a building collapse. We had firefighters in the building conducting searches. The building kept collapsing. We decided to get all our people out of the building build,” said Esposito. “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 in to do an assessment and conduct searches.”
This photo by Charlie Franklin shows the partially collapsed parking garage in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Charlie Franklin via AP)
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“The biggest part of that is we can use the technology to get information and reconnaissance without putting the lives of our firefighters and our first responders at risk,” Esposito added.
Esposito said an employee trapped on the upper floors was conscious and alert enough to move around and call for help. Firefighters pulled him over the roof to another building.
NYPD Keechant Sewell said a nearby Pace University building was considered unstable and was evacuated after its parking garage collapsed.
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE: FDNY personnel carry a person on a stretcher away from a collapsing parking garage, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
“At this point, we have no reason to believe this is anything other than a structural collapse. Clearly, that investigation will continue,” Sewell added.
Vilenchik also said that the certificate of occupancy for the building was issued in 1957 to be used as a parking garage. In 2010, work plans were submitted for the installation of a car lift. Adams highlighted how the building department would conduct an assessment to determine if there were any active violations against the garage.
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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“That will all be part of our assessment. We have not filed any 311 complaints about the building. And as DOB’s Acting Commissioner pointed out, it will always be part of the assessment of what exactly happened here, if there were no overt violations of the structure,” Adams said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to NYC’s medical examiner’s officer on Wednesday, seeking the identity of the deceased.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
