Woman killed in partial façade collapse in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Police say a woman was killed while clearing snow from her steps after a façade on a townhome collapsed onto her Tuesday in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
It happened at around 12:30 p.m. at the corner of 54th Street and Sixth Avenue.
Images from Google Earth show what the building used to look like, with a decorative facade at the entrance of the building. But after Tuesday's collapse, all you can see are exposed bricks and debris on the ground.
Security video from across the street shows the moment those bricks came down.
Police said 74-year-old Dale Singer was outside the townhome, shoveling the stoop, when the bricks fell on her. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Department of Buildings and the Red Cross were on the scene late Tuesday afternoon.
Neighbors said the woman had lived there for a while.
"She was a very nice lady. That's all I can say. She always say hi to me. We always stop and talk sometimes. She stop and talk to me, say, 'Hello, how's the family?'" Mayra Martinez said. "All the time she was cleaning over here and sweeping over here all the time. I'm very sad."
"Yeah, nice lady ... I know her long time, more than 10 years," said Yan Chen, at Kang Wei Laundromat.
The Department of Buildings says the two-story brownstone is 120 years old. A full inspection was done by forensic engineers, and the owner was issued a violation for failing to maintain the building. They will need to a hire a structural engineer and submit a report on the building's status to DOB.
In the meantime, a sidewalk shed was installed to protect pedestrians. DOB says the property owner will have to pay the cost of that installation.
A vacate order has been issued. The Red Cross is helping the household of five people with temporary lodging, as well as mental health and spiritual care.