CITY RELEASES FINAL INVESTIGATION REPORT INTO 2023 FATAL PARKING STRUCTURE COLLAPSE
- lera-engineers
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
Updated: May 28
Major Structural Collapse Attributed Primarily to Unsafe Demolition Work on the 98-Year-Old Building
Investigators Offer Recommendations for Potential Revisions to Construction Codes to Help Prevent Future Incidents
New York, NY – Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo today announced the official release of the cause and origin investigation report into the deadly 2023 parking garage collapse at 57 Ann Street in Manhattan, revealing that a combination of factors led to the collapse, critically the dangerous demolition of a structural brick pier inside the building performed without construction approvals or permits. After an extensive multi-agency investigation, it was determined that employees of the parking garage business improperly removed bricks and mortar from a load-bearing brick pier just below the third floor of the nearly 100-year-old building without implementing proper shoring. It was further determined that this dangerous demolition work, in combination with additional contributing factors, including a flawed engineering assessment of a deteriorated brick pier, poor maintenance, and an apparent design and construction deficiencies during the original construction of the building, led to the collapse. The critical role of the unauthorized and dangerous demolition work performed on that brick pier in this tragic incident highlights the importance of strict compliance with the city’s construction regulations.
This in-depth incident report was created in collaboration with LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (LERA), the NYC Department of Investigation (DOI), and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is being made available to the public in the interest of transparency. In addition to a detailed timeline of events that led to the collapse, and a comprehensive overview of the multi-year investigation, the report also includes recommendations for potential changes to existing city regulations to help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
