1 year has passed since deadly Lower Manhattan parking garage collapse. What has changed?
NEW YORK -- One year ago Thursday, a parking garage collapsed in the Financial District, killing one person and injuring five others.
At the time, the images of the floors of the garage crumbling were unbelievable. During the days that followed, crews carefully lifted cars off the rubble. Since then, the garage has been demolished and other damage has been repaired, but the incident has raised concerns about structural stability across the city.
CBS New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas has looked into what's changed and what hasn't.
Harley Rogers ordered a "Grand Re-opening" sign on Amazon for $18 back in November, when he and his roommate finally returned to their Ann Street apartment. The partial garage collapse next door forced them out of their apartment for six months.
"It wasn't great. I was living upstate with my parents, commuting into the city," Rogers said.
Rogers and some of his neighbors couldn't return home until crews demolished the rest of the garage. He said he remembers the chaos of that day one year ago, when his family called him to make sure he was okay.
"The street was filled with cops, couldn't get into my apartment. My dog was in my apartment until like midnight, so he was left here alone," Rogers said.
CBS New York discovered open property violations at the garage from 2003 and 2009 for a loose piece or missing concrete. The Department of Buildings said it is still working with law enforcement and a private engineering firm to determine the cause of the collapse, which killed 59-year-old parking garage manager Willis Moore.
"This Department is committed to promoting the safety of our fellow New Yorkers, and we can confirm that the vast majority of parking structures that have been inspected do not pose a danger to the public. Over the past year, we have worked closely with our partners in law enforcement to determine exactly why this collapse occurred, while also implementing an important inspection program mandate for parking structure owners that will help prevent incidents like this from happening in the future. The next deadline for this inspection program is coming up on Aug. 1 and those resulting engineering reports will help ensure that owners are aware of any unsafe conditions that are in need of repair, so that they can intervene before a tragedy occurs," the DOB said in a statement.
On Thursday, there was a touching tribute at the site of the collapse, which read, "Dad, you will never be forgotten. Rest in peace. We love you."
"It caused major impact, loss of life. It's unacceptable," Rogers said.
After the collapse, the city investigated hundreds of other parking garages, resulting in 15 vacate orders due to unsafe conditions.
The CBS New York Investigative Team tried to reach the owners of the Ann Street garage several times over the last year. They sent a statement last April saying they were devastated and they thanked first responders.
They are facing several lawsuits in connection to the collapse.
