Bronx Apartment Building Collapses During Repairs

The New York Daily News reports:

A six-story Bronx apartment building partially collapsed Monday, officials said. First responders raced to the scene of the destruction on Billingsley Terrace near Phelan Pl. in Morris Heights just before 3:40 p.m., according to police.

Numerous people were inside when the northeast corner of the 47-unit building crumbled, officials said. A man who works in a bodega across the street watched as two men worked on the building, which a Department of Buildings source said is under construction inside and out.

“Before it came down, the scaffolding started creaking, then the whole thing started coming apart,” said Ahmed Bendary, 23. “People were screaming.”

The New York Times reports: 

There have been questions around the building’s safety for years, according to city building records. The ground floor has several stores, including a market at the corner of West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place.

Just last month, the Department of Buildings issued a $2,400 fine to the building’s owner for “deteriorated and broken mudsills” at the base of scaffolding that wrapped the property. The damage could affect “the structural stability causing a potential collapse,” the fine read.

The building is owned by a limited liability company, 1915 Realty, which bought the property in 2004 for $3 million, records show. After the collapse on Monday, the city’s Emergency Management Department issued a request for a structural stability inspection of the site.

In regards to the partial building collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace, the @FDNY is focused on life. We have no report of injuries at this time but our members, including our K-9 team, are looking for any people trapped. pic.twitter.com/USXndfRwlx

— Commissioner Laura Kavanagh (@FDNYFC) December 11, 2023