Neighbors of the Morris Heights residential building that partially collapsed in broad daylight on Monday afternoon, Dec. 11, have described what they heard and saw, as emergency services continue to search for anyone who may be under the debris.

As reported, the FDNY were responding on Monday evening to a major emergency at a 6-story, residential building located just south of University Heights in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx, after the corner of the building partially, and seemingly randomly, collapsed on Monday afternoon.

 

FDNY officials told Norwood News they received a call of a structural collapse at 15.38 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, at 1915 Billingsley Terrace [a 100 x 100 building] by Phelan Place and West Burnside Avenue in Morris Heights.

 

Rescue operations were ongoing by emergency services on Monday evening and according to the FDNY, while they reported earlier in the day that there were unknown injuries, later preliminary updates by City officials suggested that the people who were in a deli located underneath the building at the time of the collapse were all evacuated.

 

According to FDNY, a 10-60 alert was transmitted in response to the incident indicating a major emergency. Click here to read our previous story on the updates provided on the situation by various City officials, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Norwood News spoke to Jared, 13, with his mother’s permission, who witnessed the building collapsing on Monday evening. Asked how it unfolded, he said, “I was coming up to go to Bravo to get my groceries and whilst I was walking, all I see is the building just fall. Everything was just falling down, and there was just like something at the deli that also collapsed, so the people that were inside the deli were trapped.”

 

We asked if it was like an explosion or just the sound of debris falling. “Not like an explosion, just very loud,” he said. We asked the teen if he started to run when he saw the building collapse. He replied, “I just started walking faster!” Asked if he saw anyone fall out of the building, he said he wasn’t sure but he thought maybe he saw someone hanging onto a bed in one of the upper floors.

He couldn’t remember which floor but in photos taken by Norwood News, there appeared to be a bed on the 4th floor close to the front of the building where the outside wall had collapsed which was seen in a tilted position.

 

Jared continued, “Then I go up the block. I turn around. The upper floor fell down towards like the bottom of the building.” Before we obtained closer photos of the building, Norwood News asked if the bed Jared had seen had also fallen out of the building. He said, “No, it was still hanging.” Asked if the person he saw had been holding on to the bed, he said he thought they were, but couldn’t see properly and couldn’t tell if they were old or young. “I didn’t really see,” he said.

 

We asked if he heard people scream or call for help. Jared said, “I mean, yeah. People said, ‘Oh, my God! What happened?'” Asked what else, if anything, he remembered about the collapse, Jared said nothing much more than that.

We also spoke to another young man called Jordan who talked to us about the impacted building before it collapsed. He said he heard from friends that the collapse was due to the “workshop” linked to the construction at the impacted building, “water damage,” and “a missing part in the building.” Norwood News is unable to confirm this. We contacted NYC Department of Buildings about the incident to see if they had any insight into the cause of the collapse. Their investigation is ongoing they said.

 

Asked if he saw water gushing out of the building as it was collapsing, Jordan said no, adding he didn’t see the building collapse as he only arrived later. “It was just sad, you know?” the young man of 18 said. “I mean the construction has been going on for years already, for like two years / three years.” Asked if there had been scaffolding outside the impacted building, Jordan said, “No, I don’t think so. I think there was just stuff under it, holding it.”

 

Jordan said he also heard the water supply to one of the neighboring buildings had been closed off. A fire hydrant outside one of the nearby buildings was seen spraying water onto the street but not with any great force. He continued, saying he saw “a bunch of furniture,” and “the building….just half of the building falling down.”

Asked if he knew anyone who lived in the building or the people who owned the store, Jordan said he knew the family a little bit who ran the store. “They’re very nice people,” he said.

Also speaking in Spanish, José said he had been lying down when he heard what he thought was like an explosion. “Like a boom,” he said. “I went to the window and saw a lot of dust and then I saw the part of the building collapsed. I ran out of the bedroom to get her [Lisa]. We couldn’t see much with the smoke. I called 911.”

 

Asked if they saw any injured people or any people inside the building, José said it was difficult to see but added that at the time the building fell, it almost fell on top of a bus that was underneath.

Asked if they knew anything about the people who were reportedly trapped in the deli, Lisa said she heard that they were able to exit at the back of the building because the front was blocked due to falling debris. “It seems like there were a lot of people [affected],” José said.

As reported, according to City records, the building is owned by 1915 Realty LLC, with an address in Brooklyn. Norwood News has attempted to reach the company for comment. We were not successful. A number of complaints had been filed by residents of the building (see attached) and there had also been violations recorded for the address, as reported, and according to NYC Department of Buildings records. A full vacate order is in place at the site, with some residents being housed at Bronx Community College. 

 

On February 21, 2020, a Façade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP) report classified the building as “unsafe.” An extract from the report available on DOB’s website reads, “While nothing on the building was imminently hazardous, the building was considered “unsafe” because the 7th cycle SWARMP conditions [Safe with a Repair & Maintenance Program] had not been corrected, and there was significant masonry damage throughout the façade. The conditions of damage are identified on the repair drawings which are included in the supporting documents.”

 

It continued, “Since the 8th cycle report was filed before the outbreak of COVID-19, it was expected that the work would be complete by February 2021. However, the outbreak of COVID-19, delayed the start on the repairs. A sidewalk shed is present along the south elevation on Billingsley Terrace, along the east elevation on Phelan Place, and along the north elevations on West Burnside.”

 

According to the report, an initial inspection was conducted on February 18, 2020, which included a visual inspection of all facades from the ground and the roof. The roof was accessed to inspect the parapet interior, bulkhead conditions, roof surfaces, and roof appurtenances. According to the inspection report, no “hands-on” inspection was conducted since the building was deemed “unsafe.” It was also noted that during a follow-up visit on March 23, 2021, the conditions observed in 2020 had not changed.

 

The report concluded that “the owner or property manager should have someone qualified check the façade regularly to be certain that no loose items or objects (such as potted plants) are placed on sills, ledges, fire escapes or other areas where they could fall.” It continued, “He should also be certain that window sills are kept free of debris. Similarly, the owner or property manager must take measures to make sure that window air conditioning units are properly installed, maintained and supported at all times. Qualified personnel should regularly examine the premises and monitor conditions of this nature and require the removal or correction of potentially unsafe items of this kind.”

 

It further concluded, “It is advisable to require window air conditioning units be installed by competent professionals in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations and good safety practices. Items of this nature are frequently installed on a temporary basis and cannot be the responsibility of the engineer. It is recommended that the owner or property manager keep records of all exterior building repairs and of all problems related to the building’s exterior. These records should be made available to the QEWI performing the Local Law #11/98 inspection or providing services relating to the exterior façade.”

Norwood News also spoke with Sanchez who spoke about Red Cross services available to impacted residents. “The Red Cross services are always available,” she said. “They come on site and they offer hotel services. They offer a food stipend depending on your situation, and it’s very important to cooperate with them.”

 

Asked if she wanted to offer some words of comfort to the affected residents, she said, “Absolutely. We’re digging into exactly what happened here. The Department of Buildings is here, engineers and the architects, looking into this situation and, you know, this is what we don’t want to see happen. We never want to see the worst case scenario. So, we’re trying to understand what happened and try to make sure that all of our buildings are as safe as they can be, and landlords are maintaining their properties as they should be, and we’re here for the families.”

 

To view some short videos of the scene, some taken after dark by Norwood News, and some taken during daylight hours courtesy of local residents, José and his sister, Lisa, who live in the area, click here, here, here, and here.

 

In April 2023, Norwood News reported that three building contractors were charged on April 12 in the first Bronx case to bring charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for a construction fatality which took place, as reported by Norwood News at the time, at 94 East 208th Street in Norwood in 2019.

 

Gibson later tweeted, “Anyone affected by today’s partial residential building collapse in Morris Heights, please come to the reception center at P.S. 396/M.S. 390, located on 1930 Andrews Avenue (entrance on West Burnside Avenue). The Red Cross is on site registering clients who need hotel accommodations.”

 

Fire officials provided the following update on Tuesday, Dec. 12, “For hours, FDNY members searched for potential victims of the partial building collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace. They have gone through a large pile of debris, 12 feet high in spots, and found no victims.” They added, “Two civilians sustained minor injuries during the evacuation.”

 

During a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at City Hall, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said the Adams administration plans to impose a new methodology of increased fines on property owners who fail to take action promptly upon notification of needed repairs to any buildings found to be in violation of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) building code safety requirements.

For those wishing to assist the victims, the following GoFundMe pages have been confirmed as having been screened and deemed legitimate by GoFundMe:

 

Bronx Building Collapse Victims Ana & Ramon:

https://gf.me/v/c/c9sg/bronx-building-collapse-victims-Ana-and-Ramon

 

Bronx Building Collapse 1915 Billingsley Terrace:

https://gf.me/v/c/c9sg/bronx-building-collapse

 

Bronx Partial Building Collapse: Acosta Family:

https://gf.me/v/c/c9sg/bronx-partial-building-collapse-acosta-family