A parking structure in New York City collapsed on Tuesday, killing one worker and injuring five others who were inside the building. The four-story structure was commonly used by students and faculty at Pace University, which was evacuated as a precaution. Emergency personnel deployed robotic devices to check the site for any further casualties, but authorities said they believed everyone who was in the building had been accounted for. No foul play is suspected in the collapse, which took place near Pace University in lower Manhattan.
City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters that “We have no reason to believe that it was anything other than a structural collapse.” Video footage from the scene showed a rescue operation underway and multiple cars stacked on top of one another amid crumpled slabs of concrete. John Esposito, the chief of fire operations for the New York City Fire Department, described all six injured individuals as workers who were in the parking structure when it collapsed.
“This was an extremely dangerous situation for our firefighters,” he said in a late-afternoon news briefing. Witnesses said the collapse was swift and without warning. “It all happened so fast,” said Thai Nguyen, 35, who lives in Chinatown and is a manager of the nearby Kollective Klub. “Our store is two buildings from the parking garage, and we also have a hotel next to us. People ran inside asking if they could take refuge inside our store.”
“It felt like an earthquake,” Liam Gaeta, a Pace University student, told an ABC News affiliate. He said he heard “a large noise and a big rumbling, and then we all got evacuated”. New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters that “This building is completely unstable.”
The collapse of the parking structure has raised concerns about the safety of buildings in New York City. In recent years, there have been several high-profile incidents involving building collapses, including the collapse of a crane in Manhattan in 2016 that killed one person and injured three others. In 2015, two people were killed and 22 injured when a gas explosion caused two buildings to collapse in the East Village.
The New York City Department of Buildings has launched an investigation into the collapse of the parking structure. In a statement, the department said that “We are actively investigating this incident and will take all appropriate enforcement actions based on what we learn.” The department has also ordered an inspection of all parking structures in the city to ensure that they are safe.
The collapse of the parking structure has also raised questions about the safety of workers in the construction industry. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. In 2019, there were 401 fatal falls in the United States, with 36% of those deaths occurring in the construction industry.
OSHA has launched an investigation into the collapse of the parking structure. In a statement, the agency said that “OSHA is aware of the incident and is investigating to determine whether there were any violations of workplace safety standards.” The agency has also reminded employers in the construction industry of their responsibility to provide a safe workplace for their employees.
The collapse of the parking structure is a tragic reminder of the importance of building safety and workplace safety. It is essential that building owners and employers take all necessary precautions to ensure that their buildings and workplaces are safe for everyone who uses them. The investigation into the collapse of the parking structure will hopefully provide answers about what went wrong and how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.