One man was injured when hundreds of pounds of concrete facade collapsed off of a Brooklyn supermarket on Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.
The man, said to be in his 40’s, was struck on the head by a single brick, part of more than 500 pounds of a concrete cornice that toppled from the facade of the Crown Heights supermarket.
The collapse occurred at about 3:30 p.m. on July 22 when shoppers were walking past Idea Supermarket at 1412 St. John’s Place, just off busy Utica Avenue. Without much warning, the curling shaped concrete broke loose from the brick facade and came crashing down next to the victim, with a brick hitting him on the head.
Firefighters from Ladder 123 found the victim with a head injury, but officials said it was not life-threatening.
Fire officials on the scene closed off the area to pedestrians and requested the Buildings Department conduct an investigation into any further potential collapse hazards. Officials say the building will probably require a sidewalk shed to safeguard the public from any additional falling debris.
The facade may be up to a century old, much of it retaining its original design.
A collapse of a facade two weeks ago in Manhattan from an old parking garage crushed several cars, but only one minor injury was reported.
