NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse

Apr 29, 2023, 10:06 AM

FILE — Cars are seen piled on top of each other at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking g...

FILE — Cars are seen piled on top of each other at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage in the Financial District of New York, April 18, 2023, in New York. After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural issues that "deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural issues that “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety.”

Two of the parking garages have apartments above them — a 25-story high-rise in downtown Manhattan and an eight-story building in Chinatown — but officials said the residential areas appear to be in no danger.

City officials directed the owners of the parking facilities to make immediate repairs to corroded concrete and other damage.

Inspections were launched soon after a three-story stand-alone parking structure, about a century old, imploded into shards of concrete and twisted metal on April 18, crushing to death its manager.

“This work was done in the interest of public safety, and out of an abundance of caution,” said Building Department spokesperson Andrew Rudansky.

“During our sweep of 78 parking structures, we found four locations where structural concerns necessitated areas of the buildings to be immediately vacated,” he said.

The city last year began mandating parking structures be inspected by owners at least once every six years. The first wave of garages, located from the southern tip of Manhattan to the lower Central Park area, have until the end of the year to complete initial inspections.

The structure that collapsed earlier this month had not yet completed its required inspection, city officials said.

Why it collapsed is still under investigation but it had been previously cited for various structural defects, including signs of corrosion in concrete called “spalling.”

Inspectors visited 17 parking garages managed by the same company that managed the collapsed structure and 61 additional buildings, all with parking garages, that had open structural issues.

They found four properties with structural damage in the parking garages where the damage was so bad, the city issued vacate orders to at least parts of the structures.

Underneath the 25-story building in lower Manhattan, inspectors found concrete slabs “extensively corroded, with spalled concrete on the underside of two-floor slab ceilings.” As a result, more than half of the garage is now off-limits and its operators ordered to provide protected pathways in those places.

But engineers found no need to vacate any residential areas of the building.

Similarly, building officials said residents could stay put in a Chinatown apartment building despite finding “numerous severely deteriorated and rusted steel beams, with excessive cracked and spalling concrete piers.”

A two-story parking structure in Brooklyn was in such disrepair, the city said, that it ordered the shuttering of the entire structure. Another two-story structure in the borough was partially closed because of extensively corroded beams and deteriorated vehicle ramps.

The four buildings can’t reopen until repairs are made and pass inspection.

Because inspections of parking garages continue, officials said there could be more enforcement action to come.

Meanwhile, crews continue clearing debris from the fallen structure.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had opened an investigation into the collapse.

An initial investigation by the Building Department noted that all three floors of the garage partially or completely collapsed. The garage’s rear wall partially collapsed, and the front facade bulged.

Enterprise Ann Parking, which operated the garage on Ann Street, said it was cooperating with authorities on the probe.

Two decades ago, city inspectors cited the property owner for failing to properly maintain the building, finding at the time that there were “cracks and defects” in the concrete. A more recent inspection in fall 2013 showed no further structural issues, according to an update the Building Department provided Wednesday.

The garage caved at around 4 p.m. Tuesday, a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, just as patrons were beginning to return to the garage after work.

The collapse shook nearby buildings and terrified people who likened the sound to a massive explosion and the experience to a violent earthquake.

United States News

FILE - The sign for Fort Bragg, N.C., is displayed, Jan. 4, 2020. Fort Bragg will shed its Confeder...

Associated Press

Fort Bragg to drop Confederate namesake for Fort Liberty, part of US Army base rebranding

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Fort Bragg will shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty in a Friday ceremony that some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members. The change is part of a broad Department of Defense 2020 George […]

22 hours ago

FILE - Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee responds to questions during a news conference, April 11, 2023, in N...

Associated Press

In gun law push, Tennessee governor’s office memo says NRA prefers to ’round up mentally ill people’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican’s staffers as part of their initial attempt to pass a gun control proposal earlier this […]

22 hours ago

Chips sit on a roulette table at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J., on May 17, 2023. With ...

Associated Press

As legal gambling surges, should schools teach teens about risk?

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As a high school senior, Nick was blessed with a deadly accurate jump shot from the three-point range — something he was quick to monetize. He and his gym classmates not far from the Jersey Shore would compete to see who could make the most baskets, at $5 or $10 […]

22 hours ago

Sage Chelf poses for a photo at her home in Orlando, Fla., May 27, 2023. Recent Florida legislation...

Associated Press

Some trans people turn to crowdfunding to leave Florida after anti-LGBTQ+ laws

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Dozens of transgender people in Florida have turned to crowdfunding appeals to help them leave the state after the passage of new legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community, including a law that curtails access to gender-affirming care for adults and bans it for minors. For Sage Chelf, the decision to leave […]

22 hours ago

Associated Press

US, Taiwan sign trade deal over China’s opposition

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States signed a trade agreement Thursday with Taiwan over opposition from China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory. The two governments say the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment and other regulation. The measure was signed by […]

22 hours ago

FILE - The Border Patrol station stands July 11, 2014, in Harlingen, Texas. Border Patrol medical s...

Associated Press

Despite flags, Border Patrol staff didn’t review fragile 8-year-old girl’s file before she died

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — Border Patrol medical staff declined to review the file of an 8-year-old girl with a chronic heart condition and rare blood disorder before she appeared to have a seizure and died on her ninth day in custody, an internal investigation found. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said the Panamanian child’s […]

22 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse