A police officer and the owner of a run-down Park Slope brownstone were injured after the landmarked building partially collapsed Friday morning, neighbors and authorities said.
The interior of the four-story row house caved in just before noon Friday, causing a responding police officer to fall through a hole in the floor and sending the injured owner into a frenzy, according to neighbors, who say the owner was led out in handcuffs after refusing to leave.
“She was resisting help,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be named.
Both the officer and the owner were taken to New York Methodist Hospital with minor injuries, a fire department spokesman said. Neighbors say the woman lives alone and has an open case with Adult Protective Services, a state agency serving physically and mentally impaired adults who are at risk of harm.
The century-old brownstone on First Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues has been a trash-ridden eyesore for years and the owner was hit with a $2,500 fine in April for building code violations. The fine came after this newspaper discovered more than 100 tin cans, buckets, and other containers on the roof of the building, a collection that had neighbors scared to walk down the street for fear of being hit by a rusty pail.
The residence was roped off with caution tape as of Friday night, according to neighbors. The Department of Buildings is investigating the structure. The fine has not yet been paid, according to the building department’s website.
Reach reporter Natalie Musumeci at nmusumeci@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4505. Follow her at twitter.com/souleddout.
