The day after Monday’s partial building collapse in the Bronx, officials with Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Tuesday said they want to “sharpen” the city’s tools for fining building owners who fail to rectify safety issues.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said the administration wants to impose “escalating fines” — meaning the amount of the fine increases with each new violation — on property owners who are out of compliance with city building safety codes or do not address identified issues in a timely manner.
Joshi made the comments during the mayor’s weekly “off-topic” press conference on Tuesday following the partial collapse of the six-story building at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in the Morris Heights section of the Boogie Down on Monday afternoon.
The Bronx collapse, which drew roughly 200 firefighters to the scene, did not result in any deaths or serious injuries, according to city officials. Adams said that was “remarkable” considering the building houses a bodega on its ground floor.
“Fortunately for us that we were able to dig through the pile, which is a very dangerous part of the operation … and not find one person who was injured, it was just remarkable when you think about it because there was an active bodega on that corner,” Adams said.
Deputy Mayor Joshi also pointed to scaffolding and garage reform legislation the administration is working with members of the City Council to pass.
“We’re a city of millions of buildings and 500 something inspectors,” Joshi said. “So we will never, with boots on the ground, get to every building. The tools that we have are the fines that we can impose for those that are not in compliance or fail to do work in a timely manner.”
The mayor noted the cause of Monday’s collapse remains under investigation.
The building did have unsafe facade conditions, including deteriorating mortar and cracks within the facade, according to Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo. It has been hit with 48 DOB violations since 1984, according to the Buildings Information System, two of which are still active.
The structure was deemed “unsafe” in 2020 by an engineering firm hired by the owner to inspect the building, but repairs were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the news site The City. The property owner has begun efforts to rectify that issue, Joshi said, which related to the building’s facade and not its structural integrity.
The Bronx collapse follows other recent building collapses, most notably the roof of a Lower Manhattan parking garage caving in and killing one person in April. The garage at 57 Ann St. had a history of city-issued violations.
With reporting from Dean Moses, Steven Goodstein and Robert Pozarycki.
