Brooklyn Heights residents say the collapse of a hotel awning near the entrance to the Clark Street subway station this weekend was a disaster waiting to happen — pointing to years of visible disrepair, foul smells and water leaks in and around the building.
The 10-by-20-foot St. George Hotel marquee came crashing down around 7:08 a.m. on Sunday — according to FDNY officials, landing just outside the entrance to the station at 100 Henry St. No injuries were reported, but the incident sparked an emergency response and prompted the MTA to keep the station closed into the following day.
The Clark Street station — home to the 2 and 3 trains — remained shuttered Monday morning, with trains skipping the stop in both directions. The FDNY dispatched one engine and a ladder to the scene, and emergency crews cleared out by 9 a.m., but transit service had yet to resume.
The incident came less than a day after the metro area experienced a rare earthquake.
“Signs of poor maintenance”
Department of Buildings crews were seen inspecting the area on Sunday and issued a partial vacate order for the building, records show.
“Our NYC Buildings engineers are now on site conducting additional inspections of the collapsed awning, and a second similar awning at the building on Clark Street, which is showing similar signs of poor maintenance,” said DOB commissioner James Oddo.
Council Member Lincoln Restler, who represents the area, posted on X that there is no timeline for restoration yet, but said his office is “pushing to get the station reopened ASAP.” Though scaffolding had been erected around the awning by Monday morning, removing the collapsed marquee will take some time, he said.
Demetrius Crichlow, NYC Transit president, said the agency “does not have responsibility or ownership of the canopy or structure.”
The awning and building entrance is owned by a private company called Educational Housing Services, according to Restler. The company declined to comment on the situation. On Monday, the DOB issued a citation to the building owners for “Failure to maintain” and ordered a hand-demolition of the awning.
“We have a service that we’re willing and ready to provide, so not having the ability to provide customers the transportation they need and deserve is just unacceptable,” Crichlow said. “Commissioner Oddo is absolutely tuned in and understand that this is the priority for this team.”
He said crews would work to determine which of the station’s two entrances could be cleared fastest to allow riders back in.
One train commuter said he was not surprised by the collapse.
“Anyone who’s used this subway station or walked through the building knows it has not been taken care of,” he said. “It has smelled like sewage, disgustingly, for many months inside. There are constant leaks underground.”
The rider also said the awning had been missing letters on the sign.
“It just looked unkept,” he said. “I’m not surprised. Hopefully this is a wakeup call.”
The Clark Street station is more than a century old and got an interior renovation and new elevators in 2022. In their first few months of operation, the elevators were plagued by frequent breakdowns — some of which trapped riders inside.
A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork.
