NYC parking garage that collapsed in Lower Manhattan had 4 open violations, Department of Buildings says
NEW YORK -- The New York City Department of Buildings confirms there are four open property violations at the site of a deadly parking garage collapse in Lower Manhattan.
They added, however, it's too early to say whether any of them contributed to the collapse.
One of the open violations is from 2003. It is described as a "failure to maintain building" and the city called the violation "hazardous." The description noted missing or defective concrete in at least one part of the building.
Another violation, also still listed as open, is from 2009. Part of the description in that violation says, "loose piece of concrete in danger of falling at various locations."
We also found other violations over the years, but most of them are listed as resolved.
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Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine says the building was built in 1925 and got its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking. He also pointed to a city record from 2010 that shows 34 new auto lifts were installed at the property.
"Which would only add to the weight, so there was a lot of weight on each of these floor plates," Levine said. "There was construction, there was even installing an electrical charger for electrical vehicles, but it feels like weight was the culprit here."
Levine points out we don't know for sure what caused the collapse yet, but there are certainly a lot of tough questions to ask in the days ahead.
We're in touch with the DOB, and we've also tried to reach the property owner but haven't heard back.