Crime & Safety

Bronx Building Collapse Kills 1, Injures 5, FDNY Says

Part of a building in the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx collapsed Tuesday afternoon, killing at least one person.

One person was killed when a part of a building collapsed Tuesday in The Bronx.
One person was killed when a part of a building collapsed Tuesday in The Bronx. (Courtesy the Citizen app)

THE BRONX, NY — A worker was killed and five more were injured when a building under construction collapsed Tuesday afternoon in The Bronx, city fire and buildings officials said.

The third floor of 94. E 208th St. collapsed shortly before 12:30 p.m., trapping a worker below, a Department of Buildings spokesperson said. The worker, who has not been identified, died from his injuries as firefighters worked to rescue him, an FDNY spokesman said.

Of the five people who were injured at the site, two suffered serious injuries and three suffered non life threatening injuries, FDNY spokesman Myles Miller announced.

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Firefighters determined the site was under control at about 1:20 p.m., fire officials said.

Investigators with the city Department of Buildings found that the third floor of the still-under-construction building was overloaded with concrete masonry blocks, a department spokesperson said. The DOB has issued a complete stop work order at the site.

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"This was a preventable tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of the worker who died. No building is ever worth a person’s life. We will continue to investigate this incident aggressively and bring all appropriate enforcement actions against those responsible," a department rep said in a statement.

Developers filed plans with the city in August 2018 to build a four-story residential building at the East 208th Street site, which was previously a vacant lot. Permits were awarded in May, a DOB spokesperson said.

Scaffolding was installed at the site in June, according to a complaint made to the Department of Buildings by the owner of an adjacent property. Inspectors did not issue a violation at the time because the scaffolding was removed from the neighboring property, according to city records.

Before Tuesday's collapse, no violations had been issued at the site, a DOB spokesperson said. The department's investigation of the worksite is ongoing.


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