May 7, 2009 7:35 am US/Eastern
Partial Roof Collapse Causes Evacuations In B'klyn
Building Collapse At 217 Court Street In Cobble Hill Leads To Evacuations Of Nearby Residents

Reporting
Jay Dow
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
-
-
The roof of a vacant building on Court Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn partially collapsed early Thursday morning, causing nearby residents to evacuate their homes.
CBS
The New York City fire department says the roof of a vacant Brooklyn building has partially collapsed, and residents of nearby buildings have been evacuated.
Fire officials said the incident happened early Thursday morning at 217 Court Street in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of the borough.
CBS 2's Jay Dow talked to Dep. Chief Peter Leicht at the scene of the collapse.
"This is a common occurrence when we get rain. We've had a few days of rain and the old buildings can't handle the weight." Said Leicht.
Buildings department and emergency management officials will determine if there's any structural damage to either of the neighboring buildings.
But an initial inspection leaves no doubt that a most, if not all of 217 Court Street will need to be demolished.
They say there are no reports of injuries.
It wasn't immediately clear how many residents were forced from their homes.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Comments