Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
City vacates another 3 ‘unsafe’ buildings after Manhattan parking garage collapse
By
Phil Corso
and
Catalina Gonella
Published May 3, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ben Von Klemperer
By
Phil Corso
and
Catalina Gonella
Published May 3, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The city Department of Buildings has issued vacate orders on three additional garages Wednesday as part of a targeted enforcement sweep since a Manhattan parking garage partially collapsed last month, killing one person.
A garage in the East Village was ordered to fully vacate and two others in the Lower East Side and Bed-Stuy were ordered to partially vacate due to structural concerns, the DOB said Wednesday. The department has upped its efforts sending out engineers to assess parking structures throughout the city since a parking garage at 57 Ann St. partially collapsed in Lower Manhattan last month, killing its longtime manager and injuring several others.
“Our structural engineers are continuing their work to assess and review inspection findings of parking structures around the city, as part of our targeted enforcement sweeps of parking structures,” said Andrew Rudansky, press secretary for the DOB, in a statement. “As a result of this ongoing process, DOB has issued three additional vacate orders, where unsafe conditions necessitated parts of the buildings to be vacated. These actions were taken in the interest of public safety, until such time as these building owners can make the necessary repairs.”
The five-story commercial parking garage at 228 East Ninth St. in the East Village that was ordered to fully vacate was managed by the same company as the one on Ann Street, the DOB said. Engineers with the DOB found it “in a state of disrepair, with cracked and spalling concrete, and exposed steel reinforcement beams at various locations.” The department ordered all vehicles to be removed.
In Bed-Stuy, engineers found that the concrete on the ceiling of a parking garage at 1368 Fulton St. was breaking, and exposed steel reinforcement beams showed signs of corrosion. A brick wall was also missing mortar, and there were plumbing leaks throughout the garage, which is inside a six-story mixed-use building, the DOB said. A partial vacate order was issued for an 800 square foot area inside of the garage, but the rest of the garage and building were not affected.
Engineers found 71 vehicles inside the garage at 148 Madison St., 39 more than legally permitted, the DOB said. The garage, which is located in the lower levels of a mixed-use building on the Lower East Side, was also found in “state of disrepair, with spalling concrete slabs within the parking garage at various locations.”
As a result, the DOB issued a partial vacate order for parts of the parking garage, but other areas of the garage and the rest of the building were allowed to remain open and occupied. The garage was also ordered to comply with its certificate of occupancy, the DOB said.
The DOB ordered the owners of the buildings at all three locations to hire engineers to compile a full structural report,
The city already placed vacate orders on several buildings in the immediate aftermath of the Midtown collapse, including four parking garages that were “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety,” the DOB said in April.
An investigation into the Ann Street collapse was still ongoing, the DOB said Wednesday.
Local Law 126, a slate of rules passed in 2021, requires all of New York City’s more than 1,200 parking garages to undergo inspections by certified professionals by the end of 2027. The requirement is phased in by borough. Structures south of Central Park and on the Upper West Side are due for inspection by the end of this year.
David Brand and Christopher Werth contributed reporting.
Tagged
new york city
housing
manhattan
public safety
brooklyn
Phil Corso
Phil Corso is the evening news editor at WNYC/Gothamist. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Catalina Gonella
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Influential Brooklyn developer illegally raised rents despite tax break, lawsuit claims
The lawsuit targets the leasing practices of the company Two Trees, which recently received a special carveout in the New York state budget.
By
David Brand
Published Oct 30, 2026 at 11:43 a.m. ET
Democrats' early voting lead in NJ keeps growing ahead of Election Day
In key districts and across the state, Democrats are building on their early voting success from last year’s governor’s race.
By
Mike Hayes
News
Democrats' early voting lead in NJ keeps growing ahead of Election Day
In key districts and across the state, Democrats are building on their early voting success from last year’s governor’s race.
By
Mike Hayes
Early Addition: Is Harry running?
By
James Ramsay
NYC Council takes key step toward Mamdani's promised Department of Community Safety
By
Ben Feuerherd
NY progressives have found a way to vote for Hochul, with an asterisk
By
Walter Wuthmann
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .