A Bronx high-rise partially collapses, raising concerns about public housing safety

By Holly Yan, Joel Williams, Shimon Prokupecz, John Miller, CNN

New York (CNN) — An explosion at a New York City apartment building blew off a floor-to-roof chunk of the high-rise – terrifying residents in the Bronx and fueling frustration and outrage as to how this could have happened.

Investigators have not determined the exact cause of the explosion and partial collapse of the 20-story affordable housing building on Alexander Avenue. But officials said they are investigating the possibility of a gas leak.

No injuries or deaths were reported, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. Some residents have been evacuated as a precaution.

A ventilation shaft connected to the boiler collapsed, said Robert Tucker, commissioner of the Fire Department of New York. “We believe that’s where the explosion occurred,” but that’s under investigation, he said.

Residents who were inside at the time rushed to flee the building after the explosion caused a pile of bricks and debris to fall 20 floors to the ground. A cloud of dust hung over the area.

‘It felt like an earthquake’

Diana Hernandez was watching TV at a nearby apartment building when “all of a sudden I felt like an earthquake or something,” she told CNN.

Then, “all of a sudden, I smell gas.”

Another nearby resident heard a “big boom” and assumed it was a loud car accident.

“Around here, we’re used to trucks, fender benders – you can hear it from the building,” she told CNN. “But something felt off, because it was two (booms).”

She immediately called her aunt, who lives on the 19th floor of the damaged building. But no one answered.

“I just put on my sneakers, and I came running from my apartment,” she said.

When her aunt did respond, “She sent me video of what was going on outside her window. And all you saw was some debris falling, and there was nothing but smoke,” the woman said.

“She just got out after that. And I just came running. And I wasn’t OK until I saw her.”

Victor Johnson, a city resident who was in the high-rise across from the building, heard “loud cracking” hours before the building partially collapsed.

“I thought it was just people taking down the scaffolding in the community. I couldn’t really see where the sound was coming from,” said Johnson, who then went to sleep around 6 a.m. before he was jolted awake two hours later by the building “coming down.”

Freddy and his mother, who live in the building and are being placed in a hotel for two nights, told CNN they’re worried about what they will do next. “Being homeless is not cool because we don’t know what’s going on with the building,” said Freddy, who did not provide his last name.

“If this happened, who’s to say the other side can’t collapse?” Freddy said. “We’re going to take it day by day because if not, it’ll just make you crazy thinking about what you’re going to do after three days.”

One possible reason why the disaster caused zero casualties was the time of day. The explosion happened shortly after 8 a.m., when “many people had already left” for work or school, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said.

But the calamity sparked fears of similar collapses in other places.

‘I worry that situations like these could happen elsewhere’

The mayor said it was “not lost” on him “that October 1 is the first day that heating is turned on” in anticipation of cooler temperatures.

“I think that all of us should use this as a reminder that your boilers have been sitting idle throughout the entire summer, and so when you flip those switches … make sure you see if there’s a smell of gas,” Adams said.

The high-rise is part of the Mitchel Houses, a cluster of affordable housing towers built in the mid-1960s that 3,400 people call home, CNN affiliate WABC reported.

First responders climbed over piles of bricks to investigate, with their rescue dogs at their heels.

While firefighters scrambled to find anyone who might need help, “Con Edison Gas has shut gas utility to the impacted building,” the NYC Emergency Management department said.

“A community center at Alexander Avenue has been set up as a temporary shelter,” the agency said. “MTA buses have been warranted for sheltering. Please seek alternate routes if traveling to the area and follow all instructions from emergency personnel.”

About 500,000 New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the largest housing authority in the nation, known as NYCHA, The Associated Press reported. For decades, tenants have complained about unsanitary or dangerous conditions, including mold, rodents, and heat and hot water outages.

Many of the properties date back to the mid-1900s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat, AP said. At the end of the monitor’s five-year term, he noted that the primary issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”

Public housing in New York City “has been so savagely starved of funding by the federal government,” which has caused the infrastructure to age rapidly, US Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York said.

“It has a capital need of $80 billion and counting. It would cost $80 billion to bring New York City public housing into a state of good repair,” Torres told CNN on Wednesday.

“And then I worry that situations like these could happen elsewhere.”

While the cause of Wednesday’s blast remains under investigation, “we have to get a clear accounting of what happened and who is responsible,” New York State Rep. Amanda Septimo said.

“We have to get to the bottom of what happened. We were lucky that this emergency didn’t result in a loss of life, that it didn’t turn into a tragedy.”

Tywanda Deckard, who lives in the building with her daughter on the 20th floor, was inside her apartment when she felt the building shake and then heard two booms.

“People were screaming and hollering, I could hear people in the hallway saying the building is collapsing,” said Deckard. As residents rushed to flee the building without a working elevator, Deckard said she was injured in the panic.

Now, she’s calling for answers from officials to understand what happened and why the building wasn’t properly inspected.

“I don’t feel safe,” Deckard said. “But I don’t have another choice. I’m not going to get any sleep tonight.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Sara Smart, Bonney Kapp, Lauren Mascarenhas, Jessica Prater, Elizabeth Hartfield, Caroll Alvarado and Gordon Ebanks contributed to this report.

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