Series of building collapses in Harlem presents lesson in safety issues

The structural collapse attorneys at Denena & Points remark that over the past year, Harlem in New York City has seen a sequence of dangerous building collapses that has left residents, construction industry experts, city officials, and safety advocates concerned. Among the building collapses are the following incidents:

• Last week’s “pancake” collapse of a 5-story brownstone at 110 W. 123rd St. close to Lenox Avenue. A neighbor had noticed signs that the building was buckling. Then witnesses heard a sequence of cracks before the buildings floors started to collapse one by one on top of each other. Finally, the entire structure fell into a community garden in the adjacent lot. The brownstone was originally the center structure of a group of three buildings built to stand together. The buildings on either side had served as part of the support structure for the center. And once the neighboring buildings were removed, the center building gradually weakened before it finally collapsed from a lack of sufficient structural support. A 3-alarm fire in 1995 had served to hasten the weakening of the structure.

• In late April, a 10-foot high wall collapsed at 51 East 125th St. and Madison Avenue because of the pounding of rain and high winds. An architect noted that the building was unstable because too much of the supporting structure had been removed and the building had not been braced well. He thought collapse of the structure was only a matter of time. That time ran out for the building in April.

• Our structural collapse attorneys wrote about the fatal collapse in March of an old warehouse being demolished by Columbia University to make way for an expansion project. The 100-year-old warehouse had existed at 604 – 606 West 131st St. close to Broadway. Weak connections in a structural member that had been hidden by encasing concrete gave way when a structural beam was cut and brought down most of the adjacent structure on top of workers. One worker died in the collapse.

• Also in March, a trench collapsed at East 122nd St. and Park Ave. and buried a man in debris up to his waist. The intrepid NYC firefighters had to pull him free.

• Last September at 301 West 125th St. by Frederic Douglas Blvd., part of a building and its adjacent scaffolding collapsed and injured 18 people when debris from the collapse rained onto a city bus. Reportedly, passersby had already been complaining about bricks falling from the building.  Illegal mechanical equipment and an improper demolition process were among the faults cited at the scene of the collapse.

Our structural collapse attorneys note that contractors and the city that regulates them have a duty to protect workers, local residents, and passersby from the dangers presented by construction and demolition activities. NYC Department of Buildings employees and architects have commented on some of the problems within construction and demolition activity in the city.

The NYC DOB mentioned that it created dozens of new construction safety laws since 2008 to address some of the problems, but that there remains room for improvement. The DOB said it has also created new inspection units to target changes within the construction industry. But at least one architect commented that the agency should assign more inspectors to the areas that have seen an upswing in construction activity.

Industry officials worry that they have seen an increasing tendency to use inexperienced (but inexpensive) workers on construction projects that really require workers experienced with that type of activity and its safety issues and requirements.

Our structural collapse attorneys note that NYC has some of the oldest buildings in the nation. And the small area of the densely populated city make for an ongoing sequence of demolition of old buildings to make way for newer ones. Until dangerous safety issues are fully addressed, the city could continue to see injuries and fatalities from sudden building collapses.

Read more about the fatal Columbia University warehouse collapse in our in-depth article.