News

Residents Unhappy With Wall Collapse Report

Elected officials and some residents of the Upper West Side say the Department of Buildings should take some responsibility for a wall collapse in their neighborhood last summer.

by Cindy Rodriguez

NEW YORK, NY April 10, 2008 —They claim a report on the accident ignores the agency's shortcomings.

WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate their apartments after the retaining wall collapsed at a construction site on Columbus Avenue.

Before the accident, residents say they called in to complain that blasting at the site was causing nearby buildings to shake, but nothing was done.

The report blames an engineer and contractor for not noticing the retaining wall had been erected over a weak rock formation.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer says the blame should not have stopped there.

STRINGER: The Department of Buildings doesn't do any kind of self-evaluation, which I find incredible because there's a lot of blame as it relates to them.

REPORTER: The building's inspector did visit the site the day before the accident, but did not observe any blasting and left.

Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster says the site was shut down for 5-weeks after the collapse and those who were to blame have been held accountable.

For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.