By Jefferson Siegel
A vacant three-story building on the southeast corner of Houston and Mulberry Sts. partially collapsed last Saturday afternoon. The brick structure with an exterior of green wood was scheduled for demolition to make way for an 11-story residential building. No injuries were reported. Following the collapse, the eastbound lanes of Houston St. between Lafayette and Mott Sts. were closed into the night.
Councilmember Alan Gerson rushed to the scene.
“Thank God, no one was hurt,” Gerson said while standing in the Time’s Up! storefront space two doors down from the collapse. “We need to look at demolition and construction regulations from the standpoint of adjoining buildings.”
Building owner Trevor Stahelski was on the scene with an unidentified woman and her dog. He declined to comment. A restaurant next door and two other nearby businesses were vacated.
The Department of Buildings had put a stop-work order on demolition preparation on March 22 because of unspecified violations. And on March 29 D.O.B. ordered the building braced with cables; the cables were wrapped around the building when it collapsed on two sides at about 4 p.m. Sat., March 31.
Late Saturday night a crane was brought to the scene, and by Sunday the remaining walls of the building had been knocked down.
