Video shows collapse of Brooklyn Heights hotel awning that sat above subway station entrance

CBS News

a day ago

An awning that was attached to a Brooklyn Heights hotel and sat above a subway station entrance collapsed on Sunday morning.
The incident, which was captured on surveillance video, happened two days after a local New York City Council member convened a meeting to address conditions there.
The footage shows the overhang for the Hotel St. George, which opened more than 100 years ago, crashing down just after 7 a.m. It used to sit right above the entrance to the Clark Street subway station. Luckily, no one was walking underneath at the time.
Councilman Lincoln Restler said the building is the responsibility of Educational Housing Services, or EHS, which provides dormitory housing. Just this past Friday, Restler says he met with the NYC Transit president about a game plan to address issues with EHS.
"We get complaints from our constituents, our neighbors, every week about the stench of sewage, about the grime and the filth," Restler said.
CBS News New York reached out to EHS for comment but did not hear back Sunday evening.
Later Sunday, workers boarded up the subway station entrance. The MTA says trains are skipping stops for the 2 and 3 lines at Clark Street, as the Department of Buildings investigates.
A DOB representative said the 15-foot by 20-foot concrete and steel beam that collapsed showed signs of poor maintenance. Inspectors noted that the steel beam is completely corroded through at several locations. They are also inspecting a second similar awning on the other side of the building, which, they say, shows similar signs of poor maintenance.
The DOB website shows two open violations from 2021 related to the building's façade, and a third from 2022 in violation of a local law related to façade safety.
Restler said EHS has been responsible for the lobby entrance since 1915.
"They've been non-responsive to my office, and to the MTA about improving conditions in the station," Restler said.
For now, the DOB has issued a partial vacate order, which means small businesses there, like a shoe repair shop, bodega and florist, cannot operate for the time being.
The DOB said there could be enforcement actions as it investigates.
People who live in the area were stunned by the collapse, and thankful nobody happened to be walking underneath it at the time.
"It was kind of wild to see. It made me think a bit more about my surroundings," a local resident named Leon said.
"It's a historic landmark. I walk by it with pride every day. No one expects it to fall on your head," Brooklyn Heights resident Adam Green added.
"God forbid it happened at 12 o-clock on a Monday, 12 o'clock noon on Monday. It would have been catastrophic," a Brooklyn Heights resident named Freddie said.
"I'm just upset. What if I was walking under there?" resident Shakira Chamrai said.