www.cbsnews.com Open in urlscan Pro
146.75.29.188  Public Scan

URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/bronx-building-partially-collapses/
Submission: On December 12 via manual from US — Scanned from US

Form analysis 0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

 * Share Photos & Videos
 * CBS News New York: Free 24/7 News
 * CBS New York App
 * CBSNews.com
 * First Alert Weather
 * Links & Numbers
 * #BetterTogether: Season Of Giving
 * Book Club with Mary Calvi
 * CBS+

 * News
    * All News
    * NY News
    * NJ News
    * CT News
    * LI News
    * U.S.
    * World
    * Health
    * Business
    * Entertainment
    * Politics
    * Tech

 * Weather
    * First Alert Weather
    * Radars & Maps
    * CBS2 Weather Map
    * CBS2 Weather Watchers
    * First Alert Weather 101
    * Share Photos and Videos

 * Sports
    * All Sports
    * Giants
    * Yankees
    * Knicks
    * Rangers
    * Islanders
    * CBS Sports Live
    * Jets
    * Mets
    * Nets
    * Devils
    * Odds

 * Video
 * More
    * Station Info
    * WCBS-TV
    * WLNY-TV
    * Contact Us
    * Advertise
    * Contests & Promotions
    * Galleries
    * Links & Numbers
    * Download Our App

 * Click here to view related image.
 * Search
 * Search

Breaking News

Bronx building suffers partial collapse; Watch continuing coverage

Local News


BUILDING PARTIALLY COLLAPSES IN MORRIS HEIGHTS SECTION OF BRONX

By Jesse Zanger

December 11, 2023 / 10:09 PM EST / CBS New York

 * 
 * 
 * 

Apartment building partially collapses in Morris Heights section of the Bronx

NEW YORK -- Emergency responders were on the scene of a partial building
collapse in the Bronx on Monday evening. 

The collapse happened around 3:30 p.m. at a seven-story apartment building on
West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place in Morris Heights. CBS New York was told
there are six commercial businesses in the buildings and dozens of residential
apartments. 

The building was evacuated. The stability of the building remains in question.



Stunning video captured people running for their lives as the building collapsed
just feet away.

The building superintendent told CBS New York's Lisa Rozner he believes everyone
is accounted for, but given the busy nature of this street, it is unclear.

Felix Vargas said he was working on a unit when his wife called from their
third-floor apartment.

"My wife called me. She said the building is moving," Vargas said. "When I go
downstairs to check, the bedroom, everything collapsed."

The owner of the first-floor bodega says in Spanish he ran out just in time.

"We heard a crack and were able to leave. That's when everything came tumbling
down," Jason Castillo said.




WATCH: OFFICIALS DISCUSS BRONX PARTIAL BUILDING COLLAPSE

Mayor Adams, officials discuss Bronx building partial collapse

FDNY members were on the scene 1 minute, 36 seconds after the call came in, OEM
Commissioner Zach Iscol said.

"We immediately vacated evacuated the building and started to concentrate on the
debris pile in front of the building -- to search for any victims," FDNY Chief
of Department John Hodgens said. "We're tunneling in to that debris pile as
safely as we can. Firefighters right now are in a dangerous position. We don't
know what caused the corner of this building to collapse, and we don't know if
any more of it is going to come down. But we're searching for life. That's the
main objective at this time."

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh went into further detail on the work her
firefighters are doing.

"All of our specialized training and resources that we have for an incident like
this have gone to work. We have our drone up, surveying the area, seeing if we
can find additional information about potential patients and areas of potential
instability. We have our K9 unit here, helping us search for potential victims.
And we have all of our specially trained firefighters, tactical units, collapse
units, and our EMTs and rescue medics who are trained specifically to treat
someone in a collapse," Kavanagh said. 



The FDNY gave the address as 1915 Billingsley Terrace. The portion of the
building which collapsed, however, is located on West Burnside Avenue, and the
address was initially given as 172 West Burnside Ave. 

There are several open violations at the building, CBS New York's Tim McNicholas
reported. 


WITNESS DESCRIBES MOMENT OF COLLAPSE

A witness described to CBS New York's Alice Gainer what he saw and heard as the
corner of the building came down. 

The man works in a bodega across the street from the collapse site.

Witness describes moment of Bronx partial building collapse


He said in the three months he's worked at that location, the building has been
under construction. 

"We heard something, like, some people screaming across the street. So we go out
to see what's going on. We see this construction stuff start cracking. There was
two guys doing some construction up there. We see, like, big rocks start falling
down. And then the whole building just fell down in, like, a second," he said.

"I think about people that have to go to work tomorrow and children that have to
go to school and their lives are disrupted right now," Bronx Borough President
Vanessa Gibson said. "This is not new to us in the Bronx and when you look at
some buildings and structural integrity and what we do with investment, new
roof, new HVAC, making sure our buildings can last for the next 100 years."

The residents of 172 West Burnside Ave. still can't believe what they saw ...
and felt.

"The ground was shaking a lot. It was like an earthquake. I was scared," tenant
Angel Soto told CBS New York's Naveen Dhaliwal.



Soto was working remotely Monday afternoon when a part of his apartment building
came crashing down.

"I grabbed the emergency bags that the city gives out, the phones, and the dog,"
Soto said.

When he got outside he saw the unbelievable site.

"We were panicking trying to get to the car," Soto said.


INTENSE SEARCH OF AREA 

The FDNY said there have been no reports of injuries thus far, but it is
continuing to search the area. The FDNY is using drones and dogs to search the
area.



"We will presume, with an occupied building, that there could be someone there
until we eliminate that possibility," Kavanagh told CBS New York's Maurice
DuBois and Kristine Johnson. "We are doing everything in our power to make sure
we can find them if they're there, or to eliminate the possibility."

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh on Bronx building collapse

"Given that this is an active building, a building with commercial space and
residential space, we're going to presume that their could be someone there, and
we're going to operate like there is," Kavanagh said. 


WHAT CAUSED THE PARTIAL BUILDING COLLAPSE?

Kavanagh said there was no immediate word on what caused the collapse, but that
will be part of the investigation.   

All utilities have been shut off at the building.   



> The FDNY is responding to a partial building collapse of a six-story apartment
> building at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in the Bronx. So far no injuries have
> been reported. pic.twitter.com/9FhCSOwbSW
> 
> — FDNY (@FDNY) December 11, 2023

The FDNY, NYPD and Department of Buildings were among the emergency responders
at the scene. The Red Cross was assisting residents. 

Metro-North Hudson Line service was suspended in both directions between Grand
Central and Spuyten Duyvil because of the collapse. 


WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The majority of the apartment building is still standing. The corner of the
building collapsed, all the way from the roof down to the street. Several rooms
within the building are now exposed to the street.   

The corner of a building 172 West Burnside Avenue  collapsed on Dec. 11, 2023. 
Citizen.com

Personal items, such as a hanging shoe organizer loaded with shoes, could be
seen from the street below. A bed appeared to be crushed in one of the crushed
rooms. A small jacket could be seen hanging on the wall of one of the rooms. 



The base of the building has a sidewalk shed on it. The shed is now partially
surrounded by an extensive pile of rubble.

Dozens of families displaced by Bronx partial building collapse

Residents of the building were being directed to a service center at P.S. 390,
which is nearby. The MTA also brought in four buses to keep residents warm. 

"Any residents that need a place tonight, please go to P.S. 390. We will have
teams there to help find you a place to stay for the duration of this event,"
Iscol said.

In seconds, the collapse displaced more than 30 families, leaving them with so
much uncertainty just two weeks before Christmas.



"You can't express your feeling because today you have a house, and tomorrow you
don't have anything," a tenant named Carlos said.


MORE FROM CBS NEWS

House explosion in upstate New York leaves 1 dead
Kevin McCarthy on Trump: America doesn't want "retribution"
U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashes off South Korea, pilot ejects and is rescued
Golden Globes announce 2024 nominations. See the full list here.
   In:
 * Building Collapse
 * Bronx
 * Morris Heights
 * FDNY

Read More

First published on December 11, 2023 / 4:06 PM EST

© 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more


MORE FROM CBS NEWS





©2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 * Terms of Use
 * Privacy Policy
 * California Notice
 * Do Not Sell My Personal Information
 * CBS 2
 * WLNY TV 10/55
 * Contact Us
 * Contests & Promotions
 * Program Guide
 * Sitemap
 * About Us
 * Advertise
 * Paramount+
 * CBS Television Jobs
 * Public File for WCBS-TV / CBS2
 * Public File for WLNY-TV / 10/55
 * Public Inspection File Help
 * FCC Applications
 * CBS 2 EEO Report
 * WLNY TV 10/55 EEO Report

 * facebook
 * twitter
 * instagram
 * youtube

f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your
experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we
use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage
Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.

Accept Reject
Update Consent
Ad