Crews respond to a partial wall collapse in Tremont
A 40-foot section of a wall at 60 East Burnside Ave. collapsed onto scaffolding below just before 3 p.m.
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The FDNY says it responded to a partial wall collapse in Tremont Monday.
A 40-foot section of a wall at 60 East Burnside Ave. collapsed onto scaffolding below just before 3 p.m.
Resident Tito Rivera witnessed the chaos unfold.
"You hear it go 'kaboom.' Everything breaking down...and then you see a big ball of dust coming up,” Rivera said.
The Department of Buildings told News 12 the demolition site at 57 East Burnside Ave. had a stop work order, and multiple violations were given out earlier this month.
The violations included missing guardrails, the scaffolding not being built according to plans and issues with the demolition.
Councilmember Pierena Sanchez says she heard the rumbling from her nearby office.
"Just about 2:50 p.m., we heard some rumbling noises. My office is right behind this site,” Sanchez said. “We didn't quite know what it was, but then FDNY officers walked into our office, and they asked us if they could get access to our alley because they needed to be able to see the site."
Sanchez tells News 12 she was immediately reminded of a similar scene at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Dec. 2023.
"We heard the rumblings, and I couldn't help but think back to 1915 Billingsly, which was a partial collapse that happened on Dec. 11 of 2023, and that was just a few blocks away from here. That alone left us traumatized, so many people running for their lives,” Sanchez said. “That was the first thing I thought of. My team and I ran out of the office. We came right here ... we had to have that first question answered, which is 'are our neighbors ok?'"
