Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The Department of Buildings (DOB) has issued a vacate order for the Little Man Parking garage on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Per the vacate order issued Friday via the DOB: "The occupied parking structure with concrete framing observed to be in a state of disrepair at several locations in cellar level... crushed column base observed at several locations in cellar level ... vertical cracks observed inside elevator shaft and on masonry walls."
Albert (below), the manager at this location, said that workers have relocated all the vehicles to other Little Man garages.
No one is allowed inside the now-empty garage. He said it would be at least two weeks before they could reassess the space, though repair work had yet to start as of yesterday. They plan to reopen once repairs are made and they receive the all-clear from the city.
The closure comes two weeks after the deadly collapse on April 18 at the Little Man garage on Ann Street in the Financial District. According to its website, Little Man Parking operates 46 garages in New York and New Jersey.
During a citywide sweep on Friday, Buildings officials shuttered four parking garages, including an eight-story building at 50 Bayard St. in Chinatown and a 25-story structure at 225 Rector Place in Lower Manhattan. (The Ninth Street location was not mentioned in any media accounts.)
The temporary order also means the Budget Car Rental that shares the space is closed for now... signage arrived on the door this past Saturday instructing renters to visit the East 31st Street location.
According to the Post, the Ann Street garage "had a long history of significant structural issues, including that the connection joint between one support column and a ceiling beam had developed cracks, as had several of the walls — including some that were 11 feet long — and needed substantial upgrades to comply with the city’s fire code."
Willis Moore, the Ann Street manager, died in the collapse. He was 59.
This is good news. I know it a temporary closure might be frustrating for some. But there should be mandatory inspections annually to ensure everything is in order, and most importantly, that people are safe. People over money.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping this garage would be inspected because it also had vehicles parked on the roof. These buildings were not designed for this and should there have been a collapse, the fuel in these vehicles could easily explode and take out a significant portion the of the block.
ReplyDeleteSarah Ferguson
ReplyDeleteI hope they close the lot on 11th Street between A and B. I parked my partner's car there once and the attendant backed it up into a pole in the garage. I screamed "stop!" but he kept going and scraped the whole side of the car. When I asked them for the owner's number and their insurance, they would only speak in Spanish and gave me the number of their "cousin's" body shop in the Bronx where they said they would have it fixed for free. They wanted me to leave the keys so they could take it to this garage. We didn't want to do that because we feared we'd never get the car back again. I called a police officer but he was useless... Said since he didn't witness the incident there was nothing he could do about it. I tried to find the owners of the garage and got nowhere and gave up because John didn't pursue it. But in short: DON'T PARK IN THAT GARAGE! THEY WILL WRECK YOUR CAR AND THEY HAVE NO INSURANCE!
Welcome to the real world. This goes the same for any accident and I’m speaking from experience. If there is no video evidence the person at fault can just lie and insurance won’t pay out. it’s wise to have quality dash and rear cameras installed in your expensive vehicles. Most people won’t lie but a significant percentage will. All police does is take statements. Even if your statements are contradictory it won’t matter. They won’t teach you this even in Harvard.
DeleteAgreed the garage on 11 bet A/B to be avoided at all costs. Someone should go after their license.
DeleteAdjacent question but does anyone know if there has been any meaningful discussions about street parking permits ($) for local residents and compelling non-local auto users to employ private off-street parking? Realize it's a loaded topic generally but asking a specific question here.
ReplyDeleteooooh That'll show 'em!
ReplyDeleteAnd make em pay a $500 fine as well! That should scare the crap out of any other building code violators out there.
Glad the city looked into structures it should have already been looking into. Hopefully for the sake of the business and the people that use it, it will be fixed quickly. Parking is very limited especially with new bus lanes, etc. so garages are always good.
ReplyDelete