Manhattan garage collapse caused by faulty design, unauthorized work, investigation finds

The deadly collapse in 2023 of a parking garage in New York City's lower Manhattan was the result of faulty design almost a century ago, dereliction over the years, and unauthorized demolition work more recently, according to the conclusions of a forensic investigation released last month.

The collapse on April 18, 2023, killed one person — a worker — and injured five others at the garage, on a busy block at 57 Ann St., just blocks from New York City Hall and the Financial District.

Specifically, the report found: "The collapse was triggered by the removal of brick and mortar from a severely deteriorated, load-bearing brick pier," work that was not authorized.

A news release from the Department of Buildings, which commissioned the report, described a key factor in the collapse: "critically the dangerous demolition of a structural brick pier inside the building performed without construction approvals or permits."

The garage had been constructed in 1925, with three aboveground stories and one story at the cellar level, with modification in 1957 to add parking on the roof.

At one point, the release said, "employees of the parking garage business improperly removed bricks and mortar from a load-bearing brick pier just below the third floor of the nearly 100-year-old building without implementing proper shoring."

"This dangerous demolition work, in combination with additional contributing factors, including a flawed engineering assessment of a deteriorated brick pier, poor maintenance, and an apparent design and construction deficiencies during the original construction of the building, led to the collapse," it said.

The city buildings commissioner, Jimmy Oddo, called the collapse "entirely preventable."

"The reckless direction of these workers to remove bricks from the pier, together with the failure to report the issue to DOB, obtain the required construction permits, and install critical structural shoring, caused this building to come down. We have stringent regulations in our codes intended to prevent collapses like this from occurring, but those regulations aren’t keeping anyone safe if they are not being followed," he said in a statement accompanying the news release.

About a year after the collapse, the City Council passed legislation tightening regulations around parking garages, including requiring the Department of Building to study the condition of garages, beyond existing and ordinary inspections, shorten the inspection schedule, and increase penalties for violations.

Newsday reported last year that the city had contracted with LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, at a cost of $990,240.47, to undertake the investigation.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.