A startling building collapse on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill on Sunday has left more than a dozen families homeless.
The four-story building between Hall and Ryerson streets that buckled on Father’s Day had been cited for violations last month.
Its collapse damaged a neighboring home, which the city began demolishing on Tuesday. Two other buildings remained vacant as a precaution imposed by officials.
The fallen building dated from the 1870s and its structural flaws were not concealed — its façade had a long crack.
The Buildings Department said it’s investigating the incident to see if shoddy construction work or June’s heavy rains may have caused the subsidence.
“The public deserves a comprehensive and swift investigation,” said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Clinton Hill) in the emotional aftermath of the accident.
Four people suffered minor injuries, but the impact of the collapse is greater as former tenants must now find new homes.
Councilwoman Letitia James (D–Clinton Hill) took up a drive to assist the victims of the collapse, including a student who no longer has proper attire for her graduation from PS 157 on Thursday.
To make a donation to the relief effort, contact James’s district office at (718) 260-9191 or e-mail teamtish@gmail.com.
