We got a tip last night from a reader who lives on 1st Place between Court and Clinton that the building at 90 1st Place, which is currently being converted into five condo units, had just partially collapsed. Here’s his first-hand account:

I live on 1st Place between Court and Clinton in Carroll Gardens. There’s a condo conversion underway across the street. Essentially, the contractor finished their demolition leaving only the street facade and the roof…until tonight. At 8:00 pm, a loud crash brought most of the block out of their homes and onto the sidewalk. It sounded like what remained of the roof fell down knocking out several of the metal joists the contractor was using to shore the outer walls. There was noticable sagging along the cornice (even more so than normal). NYFD and NYPD have responded to access the damage.

Anymore eyewitness accounts? Anyone know the extent of the damage? Was anyone hurt? Were the adjoining buildings affected? It appears that the architect on this job is Van Brody, who’s designed some pretty ugly crap in his day; the developer is Eric Brody (any relation?). He paid $2,450,000 for the five-story building back in December 2005 and plans to add a penthouse. Wonder what’s taken them so long to get to this point.

Update: Here’s the update straight from DOB headquarters:

Buildings inspectors responded to emergency calls last night regarding a partial roof collapse at 90 1st Place in Brooklyn. At the rear of the building, a 15′ x 25′ portion of the roof collapsed into the building. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation; however preliminary reports indicate heavy rain contributed to the collapse. The Buildings Department has issued a Stop Work Order for all construction operations at the site. The Stop Work Order does not apply to the remedial work to make the site safe. Buildings inspectors issued a violation to the contractor for failure to maintain during the course of construction operations. Buildings inspectors will be re-inspecting the site today to determine whether the work conforms to the plans approved by the Department.

Hopefully we’ll have more updates from DOB after they follow up.
GMAP P*Shark DOB