Sidewalk Caves In At 234 Greene Avenue
We snuck out of town on Friday only to be greeted by an email on Saturday informing us of yet another shoddy construction accident. Luckily, and luck is all it was, nobody was harmed when the sidewalk collapsed in front of 234 Greene on Saturday. From what we gather, the combination of the contractor’s failure…
We snuck out of town on Friday only to be greeted by an email on Saturday informing us of yet another shoddy construction accident. Luckily, and luck is all it was, nobody was harmed when the sidewalk collapsed in front of 234 Greene on Saturday. From what we gather, the combination of the contractor’s failure to adequately reinforce the sidewalk (known as “shoring”) during excavation and an unusual amount of rain conspired to have an entire four-foot-wide stretch of concrete sidewalk cave in on itself. This site is only a few houses over from our other favorite schlock job in the neighborhood, 220 Greene, whose own plywood gates have narrowly missed injuring pedestrians whenever the wind has picked up. GMAP
First two photos by Orrie King.
I’m glad no one got hurt.
Seems to me that huge fines and lawsuits are the only things that deter these hacks from cutting corners. The rules themselves don’t mean squat. Let’s hope they don’t negotiate their way out of either one.
When will people learn that doing it right in the first place really is the cheapest way to do things in the long run?
I’m across the street, down towards Classon, so I didn’t hear the collapse, but I sure heard the police and fire trucks!
Snapped a couple of camera phone picures as we were going by a couple of minutes later — I was going to send them in, but thankfully you’ve got some higher quality images.
Between this and 220 I’m starting to worry about our entire block just collapsing into the earth one of these days…
It must be the fault of the design professional, Karl Fischer. Oh what it isn’t Scarano, can’t be??
djr is right, shoring is what’s missing, however you won’t find a shoring application, since it doesn’t get filed separetly, but there should be a detailed drawing for it, as part of the NB application.
The job they are scrimping on is called “shoring” in the front. It involves planting several steel beams in the front with some sheets of wood to prevent the dirt from caving in. The price of steel has gone up 50% in the last few months, so that is why they might have skipped it. Check to see if there is a shoring plan application at the DOB for the job site.
Clinton Hill, between Grand and Classon.
Holy lawsuit, Batman!