At about 8:10am on October 1st, New York City firefighters received reports of a gas explosion from the 20-storey building.
Bronx skyscrapers are tied to the possibility of a gas explosion
A 20-storey public housing skyscraper in New York City was partially collapsed after suspected gas explosion.
NEW YORK – On October 1st, a chimney spanning the entire 20-story public housing building in the South Bronx collapsed into the boiler room, with a large spread of exposed, broken bricks on the corner of the rising.
The explosion at about 8:10am is believed to come from a vast ventilation shaft in the New York City Housing Authority building on Alexander Avenue, officials said. The explosion is set to send debris down the street below, and the debris of the collapsed shaft is demolished.
In the chaos, no one was injured or killed, authorities said.
Footage from a local TV news station showed debris fell on city streets and buildings were blown away by several stories. Residents stood outside the public Mitchell House complex and chatted about what they had heard and seen as the streets and sidewalks remained closed late in the morning.
An early report indicates that the explosion came from a chimney inside Mitchell Houseville. The team is investigating the extent of damage reported as “external damage to the chimney,” Nicha said.
“We are very fortunate at this point, with no lives lost or injuries,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
Residents say issues with public housing buildings are being ignored
Several residents were called to city officials after officials made an update at a press conference in front of the building late on the morning of October 1st.
“You’re coming here now, right?” Reinaldo Lopez, 43, said he was standing a few feet away. Residents of the nearby Mitchell home have been a building for over eight years, and Lopez said neither the building management nor the city inspectors have responded to days of daily issues with holes in the building, corridors, or recent gas smells.
Carmen Luciano, 64, a 28-year-old Mitchell House resident, also smelled the gas and asked to replace the kitchen stove. She heard an explosion while visiting St. Jerome’s Roman Catholic Church in the morning and saw the debris fall to the ground.
She also has a black mold in the apartment, she said in Spanish.
“Hasen Nada,” she said, they don’t do anything. “Cobran la Renta” They just collect rent.
Lopez pointed to a long-standing New York City problem: scaffolding. He recalls the scaffolding in front of the building, which had partially collapsed as he lived in Mitchell’s house.
“At the end, you haven’t repaired the building,” he said. “Now they’re going to wrap the whole thing around them. How much of that scaffolding is there?”
Disassembly to begin removing debris
Some residents on the wing near the chimney have been evacuated, and crews are working to ensure the building remains structurally healthy for residents, officials said.
Adams said all gas into the building was turned off. Demolitions will begin on October 1 to remove the remains of the collapsed chimney, access the basement and boiler rooms, and restore services to the building, including heat, hot water and cooking gas, said Emergency Management Committee Zachary Iscol.
Meanwhile, some residents expressed concern about the next steps to determine safety and minimize disruption in their lives, said Bronx Rose President Vanessa L. Gibson.
“This has happened before,” Gibson said. “I’m very grateful that no one has lost their lives. No one is in the hospital.”
Investigators working to determine the cause of the collapse
Officials said at a morning press conference that it was the ventilation shaft that collapsed in the Motthaven area building.
“I believe that’s where the explosion occurred,” New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker added that investigators will work to determine the exact cause.
Adams noted that October 1st is the day housing authorities turn on the boiler and switch to a seasonal heating system. According to NYCHA Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble, boiler systems in all public housing complexes have been tested before they are turned on during the cold season.
City emergency management officials said alternative routes should be used as people expect traffic delays and paramedics to be close to the area.
The city’s Buildings Department told X that the inspector was part of an investigation at Mitchel Houses, Nycha.
The collapse of previous NYC buildings was disastrous
The October 1 collapse comes after previous building collapses in recent years have driven out residents, causing injuries and at least one person’s death.
In April 2023, a Manhattan parking garage pancakes itself and sent cars that fell on each other as the concrete floor fell to cellar levels. One person was killed and several were injured. Everything was a car park garage employee. Investigators decided earlier this year that the collapse was caused by fraudulent structural corrections by employees.
In December of the same year, another Bronx apartment building partially collapsed, moving more than 140 residents, miraculously causing only two minor injuries. Previous inspections of the building found a dangerous situation.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
