A Sandy-damaged home in Brooklyn that was undergoing construction under the city’s Build It Back program collapsed Wednesday, just as a family was getting ready to move back in, neighbors say. Checkey Beckford reports.
A Sandy-damaged home in Brooklyn that was undergoing construction under the city's Build It Back program collapsed Wednesday, just as a family was getting ready to move back in, neighbors say.
The home at 70 Beacon Court in Gerritsen Beach was badly damaged during the 2012 storm, and was finally being repaired, according to neighbors.
It toppled over Wednesday, leaving beams sticking in the air and separating the floor from its foundation.
"It just sorta, like, slid off the foundation," said neighbor Robert Daly. "It was very windy down here, too."
No one was inside and the crew was on break at the time, police said. There were no injuries. Officials are investigating what caused the home to collapse.
Neighbors said a young family was excited to move back in in about a month, after having waited more than three years for work to begin on the home after they survived Sandy.
Neighbor Linda Rizzotto recalled how the family were briefly trapped in the house at the height of flooding during the storm.
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"They were in there, the mom, the dad and two kids. They couldn't get the door open because of the water," she said.
Rizzotto said the latest blow "is kinda like reliving Sandy. It's like Sandy never goes away."
It may now be months more before the family can move back in.
