NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A residential high-rise in the Bronx partially collapsed on Wednesday morning, but miraculously no one was reported injured, officials said.
The FDNY said it received a call at 8:10 a.m. about an explosion and incinerator shaft collapse at 205 Alexander Ave. in Mott Haven. The building is part of NYCHA's Mitchel Houses.
Citizen App video shows a gaping hole along the side of the residential tower, from the roof all the way down to the basement.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed no injuries or deaths were reported in the collapse of the 20-story chimney, which rose up from the building’s boiler room. Officials were trying to determine what caused the booms heard by some residents before and during the collapse.
City officials in charge of public buildings said they need to investigate to see what went wrong. Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said he believed work was being done on the boiler at the time.
The city’s Emergency Management Commissioner, Zach Iscol, said building inspectors are checking the building’s foundations and the apartments in the impacted area to make sure they are sound. The mayor said the building will be repaired.
No injuries had been reported despite the intensity of the collapse, which enveloped the area in a cloud of dust and left a pile of bricks and other debris. Rescue dogs searched through the huge pile, sniffing for anyone who might be buried under the rubble.
Residents reported hearing an explosion and feeling the building shake around the time of the collapse. "It was like a loud boom," one resident, Anna, told 1010 WINS. "Just like something popped and the building shook."
About 40 apartments had been evacuated and gas was shut off to the building, the FDNY said. The Department of Environmental Protection said no defects or damage were found to the water/sewer infrastructure surrounding the Mitchel Houses.
Members of NYC Emergency Management, the FDNY, the NYPD and Con Edison were at the scene, as were Department of Buildings inspectors.
Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city's housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.
Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.
In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.