Update: 59-year-old worker was stuck in the office when a Manhattan parking garage collapsed
NEW YORK (PIX11) --- The worker who died when a parking garage collapsed in Lower Manhattan Tuesday was the long-time manager of the building PIX11 has learned.
59-year-old Willis Moore was in his office with some of his colleagues when the floors came crashing down. The other victim's co-workers were able to run to safety, but he was unable to make it out, said Alessy Hernandez an employee at another garage nearby.
"I feel really sad. I had known Willis for 10 years now, the cars can be replaced but people can not," said Adam Cohen a resident of a nearby building that had to be evacuated. "It can be five or more weeks before I go home, but Willis' death is really sad."
The collapse happened around 4:15 p.m. on Ann Street, between Nassau and Williams Streets in the Financial District. At the time there were six workers inside the building according to John Esposito, the FDNY’s chief of operations.
Four of the workers were hospitalized in stable condition, and one worker declined medical attention, at the time of the collapse.
By Wednesday morning efforts to recover the body were still underway as FDNY had concerns about the building's stability sources said. It wouldn't be until Wednesday afternoon that Moore's body was recovered amongst damaged cars and the rubble left behind by the collapse.
Recalling the moments before the incident Alessy Hernandez said they had left the area about 10 minutes before the deadly incident occurred.
"I was very concerned. I didn't know it was that bad. I just thought it was the back wall that fell but later saw ... the top floors had caved in and caused the pancake effect," Hernandez said.
Building Violations
As reported by PIX11 news, inspectors said the structure, which had four open building violations, could collapse completely at any time. This prompted crews to begin demolishing the building Wednesday morning, with more than three dozen cars still in the garage.
According to an FDNY source, it could take a week to deconstruct the building.
Utilizing FDNY's Robot Dog
Adam Cohen captured video of the FDNY’s robot dog at the building. He told PIX11 news his family was evacuated from their home and his car is on the roof of the collapsed garage. Cohen said it remains unclear when they’ll be able to return home.
“My wife was screaming, like something went down … she said they (first responders) were banging on the door, saying to evacuate the building,” Cohen said Wednesday morning. “I got home to see chaos. There were hundreds of cops and firefighters on the streets. Things shut down for blocks and blocks and blocks.”
University cancels classes and relocates students
After the parking garage collapsed, hundreds of Pace University students were temporarily displaced because one of the dorms was adjacent to where the collapse occurred.
Authorities decided the safest thing to do was completely evacuate the student housing building.
“This bag is all I have. My laptop, clothes, medication, everything I had to leave behind,” one student said.
Subway schedule affected
Due to the fall of the structure, the MTA had to slow certain trains on several lines as they passed through the area in order to not cause vibrations as personnel worked to stabilize the building, according to sources.
2, 3, A, C, J, and Z trains were all running at slower speeds near Fulton Street as emergency services respond to the scene where the collapse took place.
Staten Island resident loses car in the collapse
“We heard a big boom. And we thought it hit our building. So we went to check the windows, and we immediately saw smoke. Cars were sinking – it looked out of a movie. It was horrible,” another student said.
Staten Island resident Jim Slattery had parked his car on the ground level of the garage less than 15 minutes before it collapsed.
“I heard it’s trashed inside all over the place. I haven’t thought about it. Because I heard someone was a fatality, unfortunately. So when you hear that, yeah – I’m very lucky,” Slattery said.