NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse

NEW YORK (AP) — After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural defects that “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety.”

Two of the parking garages have apartments above them — a 25-story high-rise in downtown Manhattan and an eight-story building in Chinatown — but officials said the residential areas appear to be in no danger. City officials directed the owners of the parking facilities to make immediate repairs to corroded concrete and other damage.

Inspections were launched soon after a three-story stand-alone parking structure, about a century old, imploded into shards of concrete and twisted metal on April 18, crushing to death its manager.

“This work was done in the interest of public safety, and out of an abundance of caution,” said Department of Buildings spokesperson Andrew Rudansky.

“During our sweep of 78 parking structures, we found four locations where structural concerns necessitated areas of the buildings to be immediately vacated,” he said.

The city last year began mandating that parking structures be inspected by owners at least once every six years. The first wave of garages, located from the southern tip of Manhattan to the lower Central Park area, have until the end of the year to complete initial inspections.

The structure that collapsed earlier this month had not yet completed its required inspection, city officials said.