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4-Story-Building Colapse near Crown Heights

BROOKLYN, NY [CHI] — Firefighters were on the scene of a building that collapsed in Brooklyn.

The four-story building on Myrtle Avenue in the Fort Greene section housed several apartments but luckily, no one was home.

A bar on the ground floor was closed.

Fire officials said the building was “pancaked” with only the rear wall left standing.

There was no immediate word on a cause of the collapse.

Members of Williamsburg and Crown Heights Shomrim were on scene as part of the Community Emergency Response Team under the city’s Office of Emergency Management. They gave assistance to rescue personal at the scene.

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15 Comments

  • former FDNY

    At this time there are no major injuries to report.
    nice pics
    moshei H, you and lucy were looking good out there

  • News Flash

    To OK…I have news for u…its like EVERY OTHER BUILDING IN BROOKLYN!Made out of cheap sheet(sh**)rock

  • injuries

    hello!
    If n/o was in there then how come i see a girl in a stretcher??!!

  • NY Daily News said:

    four-story Brooklyn apartment building collapsed this afternoon, injuring four people and forcing the evacuation of several nearby structures, officials said.

    The Ft. Greene apartment building, which was cited for having a crack on its facade last month, rained down brick and wood when it suddenly gave way just after 2 p.m., witnesses said.

    “It started coming from the side, like dust,” said Oliver Vranesh, 22, who lives on the block.

    “Then . . . the whole thing just fell,” Vranesh added. “It fell like in layers, one, two, three.”

    The building at 493 Myrtle Ave, which houses Vesper Bar and Lounge on the first floor and three stories of apartments above, started to shake moments before the collapse, allowing residents to dash to safety, witnesses said.

    “I saw some people screaming and running,” said Jim Mutton, who was parking his car on the block. “They just got out.

    ”They had enough of a warning – a piece came down and I saw at least four people under the scaffolding,“ said Mutton, 42. ”People got out literally with the skin of their teeth.“

    The collapse triggered a massive emergency response, as firefighters dug through the rubble to make sure that no one was trapped underneath.

    Witnesses said only five people were home at the time of the implosion and all managed to escape.

    Four people, including one young girl, suffered minor scrapes and bruises from falling debris. One person was taken to Brooklyn Hospital.

    The bar was closed at the time of the collapse.

    Ahn Nguyen, 28, who lives on the building’s third floor, was not home at the time of the collapse but lost ”everything,“ he said.

    Nguyen said contractors had set up scaffolding and were working on the building in recent weeks.

    ”The wall had a crack in it,“ he said. ”They were doing work on it for like a week and a half.

    On May 1, a crack was reported running along the east exterior wall of the building from the first to third floor, according to Building Department records. That crack, which measured more than an inch wide, prompted the recent repairs, residents said.

    Two FDNY units arrived on scene minutes before the collapse after receiving a 911 call of falling bricks and were securing the area when the building fell, officials said.

    It was not immediately clear if the week’s heavy rains contributed to the crash, officials said.

  • To INGURIES:

    COULD BE THE GIRL IN THE STRETCHER WAS NEARBY WHEN IT COLLAPSED!
    THEY HAVE TO BE REALLY REALLY CAREFUL JUST IN CASE!

  • Tu Hermana

    Aizik, es verdad que en los estados unidos se hacen las casas con papel igienico!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Advice

    How can you expect a building of carboard to last. Attention all builders, carboard is a no no.

  • GO SHOMRIM

    and shomrim did it again!!! handing out water bottles to the hot and sweaty fire fighters and police men!! good job! keep it up!

  • crown heights

    I KNOW SOMEONE WHO BROUGHT ONE OF THEASE NEW CONSTRUCTION AND WANTED TO RENT THEM OUT ONLY B/C SHE COULD NOT REBOTHERD WITH BUYING AN OLD HOUSE.
    SHE SAID SHE REGRET IT IN EVERY WHICH WAY WHY B/C EVERY DAY SHE GETS PHONE CALL FROM HER TENENT THAT THIS IS BROKEN THATS NOT WORKING SHE SAID IT THE BIGGERST HEADACE. IT NOT WORTH IT AT ALL
    SHE SAID THAT THEY ARE JUNK AND CHEAP.
    BE CARFULL OF WHAT YOU BUYE.

  • disgusted

    excuse me! all of u wsho says it looks like cardboard…ARE U PROFFESIONAL BUILDERS??? if not-GET LOST!!!!

  • annoyed

    TO DISGUSTED: are YOU a professional builder? you obviously dont know anything about construction. it does not take a professional to realize that the work done was not proper. If it was done PROFESSIONALLY the ENTIRE building would not collapse from a leak, maybe just one floor at max. Get your common sense straight and then complain to people!