Engineer’s Grave Error Likely Caused Bronx Building Collapse: NYC
- A fundamental inspection error may have caused a building in the Bronx to partially collapse. The person responsible for the inspection has also inspected hundreds of other buildings in New York City, according to the Department of Buildings commissioner.
- The engineer who made the inspection mistake declared a corner beam of the building to be decorative when it was actually a load-bearing structure. This error led to construction work that involved removing essential bricks from the building without installing temporary supports, resulting in the collapse.
- The Department of Buildings is suspending the engineer’s ability to do facade inspections in New York City and is lobbying the state to reexamine his license for inspections in general. All of the work done by this engineer, including facade inspections for over 300 buildings across New York City, is being reviewed to restore confidence among New Yorkers.
A Fundamental Inspection Error Led to Bronx Building Collapse
An alleged inspection error may have caused a building in the Bronx to partially collapse. The person reportedly at fault has inspected hundreds of buildings in New York City, according to the Department of Buildings commissioner.
Although a definitive cause has not been identified for the collapse in Morris Heights, Commissioner Jimmy Oddo suggested a critical construction error occurred on the day of the incident.
Oddo revealed that an engineer falsely labeled a corner beam as decorative, whereas it was load-bearing. “It wasn’t a close call… This should have been obvious that this pier was load bearing,” Oddo said.
Contrary to initial reports, Oddo discovered construction work took place on the day of the collapse, intending to repair cracks in the corner pier. “The drawings by the engineer…made a fundamental mistake in what that pier was. It was not decorative. It was load bearing,” Oddo revealed.
Early findings suggest workers were removing essential bricks before the structure fell. The department’s chief structural engineer, Yegal Shamash, stated that removing bricks without installing temporary supports is a fundamental mistake and one that a licensed engineer should not make.
Oddo highlighted the severity of the mistake, and pointed out that the same engineer had submitted facade inspections for over 300 buildings across New York City. In response, the department is suspending the engineer’s ability to conduct facade inspections in the city and is urging the state to reevaluate his general inspection license.
Simultaneously, Oddo stated the city’s private engineer inspection process must be reassessed. Efforts to obtain a comment from the engineer in question are ongoing.
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