The corner of 1915 Billingsley Terrace collapsed in December 2023. Image Credit: Benny Polatseck | Mayoral Photography Office
On November 25, 2024, New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo announced the release of the official 48-page investigation report concerning the Billingsley Terrace structural collapse. Last December, the corner of the building at 1915 Billingsley Terrace, in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx collapsed.
The investigation revealed that on December 11, 2023, the day of the collapse, the load-bearing masonry pier was removed with an electric chipper gun and hand tools. The engineer of record failed to identify this masonry pier as load-bearing, and the contractors did not install temporary structural shoring before starting their work. These workers were employed by Arsh Landmark General Construction Corporation. This removal reduced the structural strength of the corner of the building to the point where it could no longer support the weight of the floors above, causing a collapse. The building collapse resulted in the displacement of dozens of families and two minor injuries.
The report includes an analysis of historical building records, dozens of field visits at the collapsed structure, evaluation of the building remains, witness interviews, and a review of available surveillance videos.
The Department has taken enforcement actions against the contractor and engineer for their negligence. Investigators from New York City Department of Buildings and New York City Department of Investigation interviewed with employees of Arsh Landmark General Construction Corporation after the collapse and the workers claimed that no work on the load-bearing masonry pier was conducted that day. These claims contradicted the surveillance video.
The Department of Buildings has issued two violations to Arsh Landmark General Construction Corp for their failure to safeguard the construction site and their failure to properly notify the Department of the damage at this building before the collapse. The hearings regarding the violations have been scheduled at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). The contractor could face a potential penalty of $50,000. The Department of Buildings has referred this case to the Office of Professional Discipline at the New York State Education Department. Prior to this, the City Department of Buildings has previously taken enforcement actions against the engineer (Richard Koenigsberg) responsible for this event, including a two-year suspension of his ability to conduct façade inspections in New York City.
The City Department of Buildings is creating a proactive enforcement unit that will be responsible for utilizing predictive analytics to identify neglected buildings so appropriate interventions are be taken to prevent a major collapse. This effort costs the City $4.7 million dollars. The City Department of Buildings will also be conducting educational outreach to the construction industry including a construction advisory to the contractors and information regarding the importance of properly identifying load-bearing elements of a building and implementing appropriate safeguards prior to the start of demolition work.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said, “As we close the chapter on the building collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace, we are strengthening our city with a focus on prevention. With over one million buildings in New York City, we can’t be everywhere at once. But we can identify derelict buildings and unsafe contractors that require additional, proactive inspections. Thank you to City Council for supporting the Department of Buildings in this effort to ensure that every New Yorker is safe not only where they lay their heads but on the sidewalk, where they go about their days.”
New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said, “This investigation report was the product of extensive work from city investigators, showing in plain detail the devastating consequences of making mistakes in this industry. The bottom line is that licensed construction professionals are supposed to know how to safely repair a building, and failure to implement proper safeguards when removing structural elements of a building shows an unacceptable lapse in judgement. Thanks to extensive collaboration with our partners across government, we were able to not only get to the bottom of exactly what specific failures led to this building collapse, but we are also implementing a new plan to prevent similar incidents like this from happening in the future.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)