What to Know
- The Bronx building that partially collapsed on Monday had been issued a summons related to the structural integrity of its sidewalk shed, according to a summons issued last month by city inspectors
- It is not clear if the sidewalk shed collapsed under the weight of the facade rubble - or if the scaffolding became unstable first, pulling parts of the wall down
- Aside from the sidewalk shed violation last month, city records show the building had active citations related to facade safety in 2020 and 2021. The active citations were not structural violations
The Bronx building that partially collapsed on Monday had been issued a summons related to the structural integrity of its sidewalk shed, according to a summons issued last month by city inspectors.
Specifically, on the morning of Nov. 3, the Department of Buildings inspector raised concerns about mudsills, the wooden or metal platforms that sit under scaffolding columns and distribute weight.
The inspector wrote, “I observed there are deteriorated and broken mudsills with inadequate support for vertical members throughout," according to a copy of the violation posted online. The inspector added that there was “1 vertical member with missing mudsill which can compromise the structural stability causing a potential collapse.”
It is not clear if the sidewalk shed collapsed under the weight of the facade rubble - or if the scaffolding became unstable first, pulling parts of the wall down. It is also not clear if in the report from November, the inspector was talking about a "potential collapse" of the scaffolding or the building itself.
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In a press conference Monday night, NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said the owner of the building submitted their most recent report in March 2021 and seven unsafe facade conditions were found, including cracked bricks.
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Aside from the sidewalk shed violation last month, city records show the building had active citations related to facade safety in 2020 and 2021. The active citations were not structural violations.
"I want to be clear, unsafe facade conditions is not the same as an unsafe building," Oddo said.
The Department of Buildings does not believe anyone was working on the building's facade Monday. The last known work on the facade was at least "several" days ago, according to Oddo.
"We don't believe that there were folks working on the facade work today, so far as of now, we think the most recent work on the facade was several days ago," said Oddo.
Oddo said his investigators planned to investigate the collapse further once the site is cleared for safety by first responders.
