What to Know
- A parking garage collapsed in Lower Manhattan Tuesday, killing one worker and injuring seven others
- Much of the immediate vicinity stayed shut down Wednesday, and officials expected the investigation to take time, given ongoing concerns about the integrity of the remaining structure; video from what appears to be a nearby building captured the aftermath of the disaster
- The Ann Street garage was first constructed in 1925, though didn't gain a certificate of occupancy until 1957; the number of cars on the roof deck and the building are likely contributing factors
Investigators looking into the lower Manhattan parking garage that collapsed a day ago, killing one worker and hurting seven others as concrete floors pancaked atop one another, say initial findings indicate the age of the building and the number of vehicles parked on the roof deck contributed to the disaster, officials said Wednesday.
The Ann Street garage — which was originally constructed in 1925 -- obtained its certificate of occupancy in 1957. That certificate allowed for five or more cars to be on each floor — and footage from Tuesday's collapse showed well more than that on each level. As many as 50 cars may have been parked on the top roof level alone, with 80 to 90 vehicles inside in total.
"They have active loads of of automobiles. You mentioned the weight of those automobiles — they were not as heavy as in 1950 as they are today, perhaps," said former NYC Buildings Commissioner Robert Limandri. "And the idea is to be able to identify if they were using the structure appropriately, and then also that it was being maintained."
Investigators began to meticulously comb through the details Wednesday as the immediate area remained shut down. The city said a days-long (if not weeks-long) controlled demolition is underway, with the goal of taking down the rest of the garage without damaging neighboring buildings. Contractors had already removed a large portion of the façade of the building, along with six cars.
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Also making the dismantling more precarious is what is inside the building: Car gas tanks, fluids and possibly electric vehicles (which can lead to fires that are much more difficult to put out), according to NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Isol.
Wary of the danger of further collapse, officials warned their investigation would likely be exhaustive, and prolonged, meaning there's no telling when a final cause may be determined.
A source familiar with the case confirms doorbell camera footage is being reviewed in connection with the case. The Manhattan district attorney's office confirmed it is investigating the collapse, while New York City Mayor Eric Adams ordered a new analysis of similar aging structures.
"If there needs to be immediate actions with garages, then we have to take immediate actions...There’s a very thorough investigation that’s going to be a combination of DOB and other entities," Adams said during a press conference. "There’s a law. They gotta abide by that law. There’s an investigation into what happened here."
The law that Adams referred to is a newer one passed by the City Council in 2021 regarding inspections. Adams said that the "person who’s supposed to do the inspection — the owner of the building — must hire an outside engineer to do that inspection." Whether that was ever properly done remains an open question.
A structural engineer who inspects similar garages told NBC New York that the city needs a fresh look at weight and capacity for parking structures.
"One of the things you often notice is these garages are packed. When it was designed, let's say 1970s, was the idea to have loadings throughout the garage," said Tai Mahmuti, a senior structural engineer for Hoffman Architects and Engineers, which inspects garages.
He predicts the garage collapse will bring renewed urgency to the law that requires hundreds of parking facilities to undergo enhanced inspection by the end of 2023.
"I suspect there are still a lot of garages out there that haven’t had an engineer out that are due at the end of the year, Mahmuti said. "I looked at two garages yesterday. A lot of stuff that I see in the city hasn’t had an engineer look at it for a long time."
Owners of the Ann Street garage that collapsed were among those who — under that new law — are supposed to have a completed structural inspection done by the end of the year. But the garage is among many parking facilities that have yet to file the inspection paperwork. Had the garage gotten it done earlier, it’s possible engineers would have picked up on whatever sent the building crashing down Tuesday.
The shocking scene unfolded in the Financial District in the middle of Tuesday afternoon, sending ashy debris clouds into the air on Ann Street as the top floor of the five-story structure caved all the way to the bottom. Screams for help could be heard in one witness video, while footage from a nearby building captured the aftermath of the disaster.
The victims were all in the building, working, at the time of the collapse, investigators said. The manager of the parking garage, 59-year-old Willis Morris, was killed when the rubble from the upper floors came crashing down inside his office on the second floor. His body was recovered from the scene late Wednesday night.
"He was a doll, he was very thoughtful, very professional once he started knowing you," said Maria Mammano, a friend of Morris and a regular customer at the parking garage. "When they said one dead, I just had this disgusting feeling that it was him...The minute I saw the first floor, the rubble, I knew he died because that’s where he sat."
Five others were taken to a hospital and are expected to recover, while another worker refused medical attention at the scene. One of them had been trapped on an upper floor and was whisked to safety on a nearby roof by the FDNY, investigators said, potentially preventing further tragedy.
Firefighters initially had to retreat from the building because of the instability risk.
The department sent a newly added NYPD robotic dog (known as Digidog) into the building to analyze the scene and ensure no one else was trapped. Drones were also used for additional vantage points and assessments.
The New York Sheriff's Department uses the garage to park vehicles, New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda said. All members of the department are accounted for.
No one else was believed to be trapped in what remained of the building, investigators said. As for the cars that were left toppled inside, as they are removed from the rubble, the city is towing them to Pier 36.
Classes resumed Wednesday at Pace University, which has a lower Manhattan campus, except at an academic building on William Street that shares a wall with the garage. Students at a nearby dorm initially had to evacuate after the collapse, but were allowed back into their building by the end of the night.
Attention also turned to air quality in the dense neighborhood that includes apartments, dorms and hotels. The city installed an air quality monitor to check for high levels of asbestos. The mayor’s office said that – so far – all sample results are below state and city limits.
What Happened on Ann Street?
According to buildings officials, the building had active permits related to electrical work on the premise, though no recent active violations.
A look into building violations associated with the garage shows most issues have been addressed over the decades, and the few that were still listed as open were quite old.
The most recent violation, according to the city's building information system, shows a problem with improper exit doors in 2013. Inspectors in 2009 noted broken stairs and loose concrete in various locations.
Nearly 20 years ago, in 2003, DOB inspectors found more concrete defects in the stairs as well as a hazardous condition with cracks in the first-floor ceiling, spalling concrete, missing concrete coverings on steel beams and defective concrete with exposed cracks, according to the city's online records. While the problems were nearly two decades old, records did not state whether they had not been addressed prior to the collapse.
City Hall issued a statement Wednesday saying that inspectors found no evidence of the severe concrete problems as late as 2013.
The DOB commissioner said at the scene Tuesday there was also an application for work on the building in 2010 to fix the cracks and deteriorations throughout the garage. He did not state why the open violations might have gone unaddressed if the permitted work went through, and the DOB is looking into the matter.
A 2010 technical report detailed $40,000 worth of planned concrete repair, including a stability inspection. The DOB said that work should have addressed the 2003 violations.
The Buildings Department inspected surrounding buildings as well to ensure they were structurally sound following the collapse. A photo from inside a neighboring building showed a hole that was punched in an adjoining wall right next to the garage, peering into the mess of cars, concrete and dust.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the structural collapse appeared to be a tragic accident and no criminality is suspected at this time.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene in an otherwise quiet location.
Editor's note: On Wednesday, the FDNY updated its total count of injuries to six individuals sustaining minor injuries in the collapse. The agency previously reported that five individuals were hurt in the tragic incident.
