A three-story building at 348 Court Street in Brooklyn collapsed Wednesday evening.
The New York City Fire Department received reports of the crumbled structure at 5 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the department. One person was inside the Carroll Gardens building just before it collapsed and suffered minor injuries, according to Council member Brad Lander.
Property records indicate that the building is owned by Union & Court Realty Corp., an entity tied to Kihyo Park. Body Elite Gym is one of the building’s tenants. Park could not immediately be reached for comment.
A partial stop-work order was issued last month at the property, at the corner of Union Street, because a brick wall was “dangerously bulging” over the sidewalk, according to the Department of Buildings’ website, which says construction workers were performing demolition work on the facade. The agency also issued violations related to cracks in the building’s facade in November 2019. Agency inspectors and engineers are on site investigating the cause of the property’s destruction.
Two and a half blocks away, almost eight years ago to the day, another building collapse rocked the quiet neighborhood. That incident, at 241 Carroll Street, was thought to be caused by rotted wood. A four-unit condominium was then constructed at the address in 2014.
The city has cracked down on facade violations over the last few months on buildings taller than six stories, following the December death of a pedestrian who was struck by debris that fell from 729 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. In cases where conditions at a property are deemed “immediately hazardous,” the DOB is required to perform follow-up inspections. If the issue is left uncorrected after 60 days, the agency is supposed to install protective equipment at the owner’s expense.
Write to Kathryn Brenzel at kathryn@therealdeal.com