A parking garage on Ann Street in Lower Manhattan collapsed Tuesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, officials said.
Pictures and video from the scene, at 37 Ann Street between Nassau and William streets, showed cars piled on top of each other and dust rising from the wreckage. The collapse appeared to have sent debris from the upper deck down to street level.
A snippet of footage shot from a nearby rooftop showed a cloud of dust rising from below as a distant voice shouted: “Get out! Get out! Get out!” A voice near the camera responded with a unique, stunned vulgarity.
Officials initially said they had reports of people trapped, but Chief John M. Esposito, chief of operations for the Fire Department, said at a news conference at the scene of the collapse that he believed all the workers in the garage had been accounted for.
Mayor Eric Adams, speaking at the news conference, said four of those injured in the collapse had been hospitalized. He did not specify the nature of his injuries. A fifth person refused medical attention, Mr. Adams. Officials did not immediately identify the person who died in the collapse.
The Fire Department moved emergency workers away from the scene shortly after responding, due to concerns about the integrity of the structure’s remains. Officials said they were deploying rescue workers with tower ladders to search for victims, as well as a team with drones and a robotic dog.
Department of Buildings inspectors were at the scene of the collapse, which occurred around 4 p.m., an agency spokesman said. Fire officials requested that building inspectors examine the property’s structural stability, citing “shaking” and “vibrations.”
The building is owned by Ann Street LLC, according to Department of Buildings records. Lance Howard, who is identified as the company’s contact in department records, did not respond to a request for comment.
Kazimir Vilenchik, New York City’s acting building commissioner, said at the news conference that the building had several open violations dating back to 2003, though he also indicated that plans had been submitted to correct them in 2010.
One from 2003 listed open on the department’s website cites “first-floor ceiling cracks” and “missing steel beams covering concrete.” It was unclear Tuesday whether those conditions had been fixed or may have contributed to the collapse.
In the wake of the collapse, emergency vehicles filled the streets and surrounding workers with portable stretchers and cutting tools hidden under yellow police tape headed for the pile of buckled concrete and stacked vehicles.
Cicero Clamor, 39, an art director who works on the ninth floor of a building on William Street right next to the garage, said he heard a noise and ran to the window with some colleagues. At first, he said, he thought what he heard was an earthquake until he saw “cars collapsing on top of each other.”
“We gathered our belongings and got out of there,” said Mr. clamor
Sebastian Consoli, 19, a marketing major at Pace University, which is located near the site of the collapse, was taking a nap in his bedroom next to the garage when he suddenly woke up around 4 a.m. late for what he described as a “seven to 10″. -long second boom.”
“I looked out the window and saw, just like that, the parking lot is just collapsing, basically,” he said.
He said he saw cars leaning at odd angles at the top of the garage. “The floor was basically very sloping,” he said.
Dormitory residents quickly evacuated, and two hours later, Mr. Consoli was still waiting with others to be let inside. The school offered to provide accommodation to anyone unable to find a place to sleep, he said.
Ariel Stern, 32, of Manhattan, a building manager who works a block away on Ann Street, said her car was caught in the wreckage. He got there on Tuesday around 11 in the morning
“I usually get off work around 4:30 or 5 p.m.,” she said, explaining that she had been busy and hadn’t come to pick up her car at the usual time. “I’m just thankful I got caught today and didn’t go in.”
Michael D. Regan i Hurubie Meko provide reports
