Nearly 100 people were forced out of their Manhattan apartment building and into the cold after building inspectors say a stairway inside is unstable.
An inspection of the building in Chinatown on Bowery Street was conducted Thursday and engineers found the main stairway “structurally unstable.” A full vacate order for the building as a result.
The Red Cross was on scene Thursday night helping tenants, who told NBC 4 New York that there was a visible hole in the stairwell. Residents will be allowed back inside Friday for a few hours to collect belongings.
The Red Cross said it helped 27 families, 78 adults and 17 children.
The building owner has two weeks to make repairs.
