NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner Jimmy Oddo announced on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the release of the city’s investigation report into the partial building collapse that occurred at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx on December 11, 2023, as reported, forcing over 150 tenants to lose their homes.

 

City officials said the “comprehensive,” 48-page report is the result of an extensive multi-agency investigation conducted in close coordination with the NYC Department of Investigation (DOI), and is being made available online in the interest of public transparency.

 

They said the investigation found that the collapse was primarily caused by the unsafe removal of a load-bearing masonry pier on the northeast corner of the building that was holding up that corner of the building, performed by contractors who failed to install temporary structural shoring prior to the removal of the load-bearing masonry pier.

 

They said this “reckless action” was performed because the engineer of record associated with the project failed in his critical duty of identifying the load-bearing nature of the pier. They said that while thankfully no one was seriously injured in the collapse, it did result in the long-term displacement of dozens of families. As a result of the investigation, they said the department has taken enforcement actions against the engineer of record and the general contractor for their failure to safeguard the public from construction activity at the site. The full report can be read here.

1915 BILLINSLEY BUILDING Collapse Video 1 – Timecode 00:57 Video courtesy of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)

“This investigation report was the product of extensive work from city investigators, showing in plain detail the devastating consequences of making mistakes in this industry,” said Oddo. “The bottom line is that licensed construction professionals are supposed to know how to safely repair a building, and failure to implement proper safeguards when removing structural elements of a building shows an unacceptable lapse in judgement. Thanks to extensive collaboration with our partners across government, we were able to not only get to the bottom of exactly what specific failures led to this building collapse, but we are also implementing a new plan to prevent similar incidents like this from happening in the future.”

 

Meanwhile, DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “Correctly identifying load-bearing structures is critical work, and where a professional engineer fails to identify such structures on repair plans, workers performing repairs may do so in an unsafe manner, putting their own safety, and the safety of the public, at risk.”

 

She continued, “As the City Department of Building’s report reveals, the professional engineer’s failures led to the collapse at Billingsley Terrace in the Bronx in 2023.  Thankfully no one was injured, but the collapse displaced over 100 residents from their homes.  DOI was pleased to work with the DOB on this investigation, which has exposed the professional engineer and general contractor’s disregard for the safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers.”

 

1915 BILLINSLEY BUILDING Collapse Video 2 – Timecode 00:10 & 03.18 Video courtesy of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)

On the same day, DOB received videos of the incident, never seen before by the public which they have now released and are attached.

 

As reported, the New York City Council announced on June 20, the passage of Int. No. 904-A, a bill designed to establish a first-of-its-kind, proactive inspection program at DOB. The Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity Act was introduced, as reported, on April 25 by Bronx City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14) who represents the affected area in response to the collapse.

 

Following the release of the report, Sanchez, who is chair of the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings, said, “New Yorkers deserve to both be and feel safe in their homes, yet the partial collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace last year shook New Yorkers’ trust in our homes, the professionals entrusted by our regulatory agencies to make repairs, and our city’s protocols to ensure our safety,”

 

 

1915 BILLINSLEY BUILDING Collapse Video 3 – Timecode 03:18 Video courtesy of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)

She added, “I remain thankful no lives were lost and applaud the Department of Buildings and Investigations for taking this investigation seriously, issuing violations and license suspensions, and working collaboratively on Local Law 79 of 2024, the Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity Act, a momentous change in how [DOB] will now handle structural safety in NYC buildings.”

 

She continued, “Local Law 79 moves the agency from a reactive approach to a proactive one, and with $4.7M in accompanying investments to increase inspectorial capacity, it will help keep New Yorkers safer. No amount of discipline or new laws will return the peace that 1915 residents lost on December 11th, yet we are making strides in making NYC safer for all.” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson also gave her reaction to news of the report release. Her comments are included further below.

 

Directly following the major collapse at the building, and as reported at the time, DOB safety inspectors and structural engineers were quickly routed to the scene and immediately launched an investigation into the cause of the incident. City officials said the investigation included a thorough analysis of historical building records, dozens of field visits at the collapsed structure, evaluation of the building debris, multiple witness interviews, and a review of available surveillance videos.

1915 BILLINSLEY BUILDING Collapse Video 4 – Timecode 00:05 Video courtesy of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)

As a result of the investigation, as reported, it was determined that façade repair drawings prepared by Professional Engineer Richard Koenigsberg failed to identify the masonry pier as load-bearing on the plans, and failed to direct the contractors to install temporary structural shoring prior to the start repair work on this load-bearing masonry pier. They said workers at the site employed by Arsh Landmark General Construction Corp. followed the defective engineering plans and were directed to demolish the load-bearing masonry pier at the cellar.

 

They said that on Dec. 11, 2023, the day of the collapse, work to remove the masonry pier was performed with the assistance of an electric chipper gun and hand tools. They said the demolition work reduced the structural strength of the load-bearing masonry pier to the point where it could no longer support the weight of the floors above.

 

They said the overstressed load-bearing masonry pier buckled, which led to the collapse of the masonry façade and the entire corner above. During interviews with employees of Arsh Landmark General Construction Corp. conducted by investigators from DOB and DOI directly after the collapse, City officials said the workers alleged that no work on the load-bearing masonry pier was conducted that day.

 

1915 BILLINSLEY BUILDING Collapse Video 5 – Timecode 00:02 & 03.13 Video courtesy of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)

City officials said these claims were directly contradicted by surveillance video which shows that not only were workers removing bricks from the load-bearing masonry pier under the direct supervision of the permit holder, but also that the masonry pier buckled while they were performing this work, followed by the collapse just minutes afterwards.

 

City officials said DOB has previously taken enforcement actions against Koenigsberg, who was responsible for drawing up the repair plans, including a two-year suspension of his ability to conduct inspections in New York City.

 

They said in addition, DOB referred this case to the Office of Professional Discipline at the New York State Education Department. They said they are currently reviewing the case and may take additional enforcement actions related to Koenigsberg’s license.

As a result of the investigation, City officials said DOB has also issued two violations to Arsh Landmark General Construction Corp for their failure to safeguard the construction site and their failure to properly notify DOB of the damage at 1915 Billingsley Terrace prior to the collapse. They said violation hearings have been scheduled at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), where the contractor could face a maximum potential penalty of $50,000.

 

To prevent similar incidents like this from happening in the future, DOB officials said the department is creating a new proactive enforcement unit focused on inspecting buildings that have been allowed to fall into disrepair by negligent owners and bad actors within the construction industry.

 

They said thanks to passage of The Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity Act by the City Council, and a significant investment of $4.7 million dollars from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, DOB is currently staffing up the new unit, which, they said, will use predictive analytics to identify derelict buildings and unsafe contractors, in order to take appropriate interventions in the interest of public safety before a major collapse occurs.

They added that in addition, DOB will be conducting educational outreach to the construction industry with details about the incident. They said this outreach will include a construction advisory to the contractors, construction workers and other licensed professionals about the importance of properly identifying load-bearing elements of a building and implementing appropriate safeguards prior to the start of demolition work.

 

They said that in recent years, DOB has implemented multiple initiatives to improve safety on building construction work sites which include mandatory safety training for workers on larger construction sites, enhanced in-person supervision requirements for site safety professionals, proactive unannounced field inspections by agency inspectors, and a commitment to education outreach.

 

They said these efforts have helped make New York City building construction sites safer, with a 50% decrease in construction work site fatalities between 2019 (14) and 2023 (7). They said the trend for safer construction work sites has continued in 2024, with a 26% decrease in incidents and a 28% decrease in worker injuries in the first three quarters of this year, compared to the first three quarters of 2023.

 

Norwood News has reached out to Richard Koenigsberg’s firm and Arsh Landmark General Construction Corp. for comment and will share any feedback we receive.

 

Following the collapse last year, in efforts to understand the process and the subsequent suspension of the engineer’s license amid the fall out, Norwood News followed up with City officials to ask why he had been suspended as the engineer if the engineer had deemed the building unsafe, as he did, and if that was the extent of his responsibility, if it was, and if, in a follow-up inspection, the engineer reported the required repairs were still not completed. We also asked if it was the building owner’s responsibility to to perform the repairs.

 

We didn’t receive answers at the time but following the release of the report this week, we followed up again and were recently informed that the unsafe facades and cracks in the bricks did not cause the building to collapse. Rather, the “incompetence” displayed by the engineer and the contractor [during the repair works] caused the building to collapse, when they removed a structural column at the corner of the building.

 

When the engineer determined that the building’s façade was unsafe during a local law 11 inspection, that unsafe designation meant that that the bricks had cracks in them, and small pieces of masonry could have fallen on to the sidewalk. We were informed that this did not mean that a major collapse was going to occur.

 

We were told that the same engineer who filed the local law 11 inspection report was then hired by the property owners to put together repair plans for the building’s façade, and that those plans created by the engineer called for the removal and replacement of a column at the corner of the building.

 

We were informed that the plans incorrectly indicated that the column was “non-load bearing,” and the plans did not include any instructions to the contractor to shore up the area with temporary supports before they were to remove the column. We were also told that the contractor followed those plans, removing the structural column, which caused the corner of the building to collapse.

 

We were informed that the engineer was disciplined because the plans he drew up caused the building to collapse. The contractor was also disciplined, because he was responsible for the work at the site, and we were informed that he should have looked at the engineer’s plans and quickly realized that they were potentially unsafe. Both the engineer and the contractor were deemed responsible for the collapse.

 

We were further informed that the building owners were not disciplined, because in this case, they did the right thing by hiring construction professionals to make façade repairs to their building. We were informed that unfortunately, the construction professionals they hired failed them.

 

Norwood News recently reached out to the City regarding allegations by at least one construction worker we spoke to in the last year or so that certain developers allegedly circumvent training and safety regulations in the building sector through the use of subcontractors who in turn allegedly hire unskilled non-union workers on building sites. We will share any updates we receive. More to follow on this.

 

Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here for some related construction safety-related coverage.