The four-story, white-brick building at 493 Myrtle Avenue that housed the Vesper bar on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors collapsed to the ground yesterday afternoon at around 2 p.m. According to The Local, which has a detailed account of the incident, 14 people lived in the building but none of them were seriously injured; a girl who lived next door had to be rescued by the Fire Department. The Times also reported that the Department of Buildings issued vacate orders for six buildings on the block while officials evaluate their structural condition. An official cause has not been determined, but the building had received a violation in May for a large visible crack in its eastern wall; the owner blames facade work at the building next door. In an interview on Clinton Hill Blog, an eyewitness describes the collapse as "kinda gradual" and says that the Fire Department was already on hand before the entire building was reduced to rubble. There's a great photo set here. Update: We've posted a photo of the building pre-collapse in this post. Another Update: Tish James' blog is trying to raise money for a girl who lived at 491 Myrtle and now needs clothes for her graduation on Thursday.
Building Collapse on Myrtle [NYT/Local] GMAP
4-Story Brooklyn Building Under Repair Collapses [NY Times]
Apartment Building Crashes Down [NY Post]
Building Collapse in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, Injures 4 [NY Daily News]
Eyewitness Account of the Collapse [Clinton Hill Blog]
Photo by Geralyn Shukwit
