Emergency demolition begins after building partially collapses in Pittsburgh's Uptown area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Crews began the emergency demolition of a building on Fifth Avenue, which partially collapsed in Uptown last Wednesday.
The owners of a neighboring Italian market initially feared the demolition would require their building to come down. That ended up not being the case.
The owner of the market was inside at the time and feared he'd been caught in the collapse. Their roof was damaged. His father said his son could have died.
The building at 1520 Fifth Avenue had been vacant and deteriorating for years. It was condemned a few years ago, a city spokesperson told KDKA-TV on the day of the collapse.
Neighbors, including those at the Merante market, said they had alerted the city to the poor condition of the building next door, and say it should have been demolished before.
They noted how, when viewed on Google Maps, there was a large hole atop the building, showing why it needed to be brought down.
"I feel bad for my friends," said Franco Pasquareli, a friend of the Merante family. "They are out of business right now just because the city didn't take care of blight around the neighborhood."
KDKA-TV has asked the city each day since the collapse for additional information, including why there was a delay in bringing the building down. They have not provided information since the day of the collapse.