GalaxyFacts Chat Room

[Guest]

Parking Garage Collapses in NJ
Updated 10:57 AM EDT, Fri, Jul 16, 2010


NBC NewYork Fire and emergency officials responded en masse after part of a parking garage collapsed in New Jersey this morning.

Reports of the building collapse at Prospect Towers in Hackensack came in just after 10 a.m.

It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the incident, but chopper video captured some serious damage in the area.

No further details are available at this time.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

[Guest]

Is our garage safe?? Have we taken any measures to make sure the 11 floors of garage space at the Galaxy Towers are safe. Is the structure safe?? The photos that Barbara has been sharing over the years sure has opened some eyes. Oh well but I'm sure garage automation will keep us safe!

[Guest]

I hope the judge ruling on the lawsuit of the coalition will take the garage collapse in Hackensack into account. It shows what happens when there is neglect at a property. We need to attend to the elevators, garage, drive way!

[Guest]

I have a picture of a crack on the 10th floor of the garage. This is a potential disaster waiting to happen. I will post the pictures later today,

[admin]

This could happen to us!

[Mike]

Stress fractures alongside of exposed re-bar put us all in danger of a collapse in our garage

[admin]

Parking garage collapse at Hackensack apartment tower traps at least one person

HACKENSACK — Rescuers are trying to reach one person trapped in a car in a parking garage at a New Jersey apartment building tower that collapsed this morning.



Hackensack fire Lt. Stephen Lindner says the emergency workers can see the victim but can't get to the person because they are concerned about the possibility of another collapse. They could not determine the victim's condition.



Lindner says authorities are checking out reports that two to three more people might also be trapped.



The collapse at the Hackensack Towers at 300 Prospect Ave. was reported at around 10 a.m. Authorities said two or three floors of the apartment building's parking garage collapsed. It is unclear if anyone has been trapped . The garage is on the bottom floors of the building.

Lindner said the apartment building has been evacuated and traffic has been stopped around the tower due to fears that vibrations from vehicles could cause additional collapses.

Lindner describe the parking garage as a “pancake collapse” where floors fell on top of each other. As firefighters continue to search for victims, they will be putting up blocks to support the walls. The biggest imminent danger is another collapse, according to Lindner .



The cause has yet to be determined but authorities said they believed there was construction in the area that may have led to the collapse, Lindner said.

Video reports from the scene shows the front metal and glass canopy that covered the driveway and entrance collapsed and pulled away from the 18-story structure, according to MyFoxNY.com
nj-building-collapse-parking-garage.jpgMyFoxNY.comA portion of the parking garage at the Hackensack Towers collapsed this morning. (Photo courtesy of MyFoxNY.com)

Authorities said the overhang at the front of the building collapsed and fell into the three-level parking garage, causing the secondary collapse of that structure.

Prospect Towers resident Rachel LaValle, 26, had just driven out of her spot on the bottom level of the garage at around 10 a.m. this morning when she heard an alarm sound. As she rounded the second ramp in the garage toward the exit, she saw smoke.

"I couldn't see past the cloud. I was staring and then the cloud cleared and I could see dirt pipe and concrete--everything," LaValle said, saying her exit suddenly disappeared. "It was blocked by the collapse."

When she got out of her car to examine the wreckage, someone form the balcony yelled at her to get out. She got back in the car, turned it around and was going to go back to her spot but then parked it as soon as possible. She ran in circles trying to get out until she reluctantly took one of the stairwells.



"I peaked in each doorway as I went up. There was water everywhere," LaValle said, noting that the area of the garage where she had to leave her car seemed to have been spared.

She said she wasn't surprised that the garage collapsed because the structure had been under repair for the past four months with various sections cordoned off.

When she got up to the ground level she saw the hole.

"If you were the doorman and walked out of the front door you would have fallen into a 100 by 100 foot hole," LaValle said adding, "It's a little surreal I guess."

Officials are attempting to account for residents of the building and ask people who live there to call the police at (201) 646-7777 to verify they are safe.

Steve Lolacono, Hackensack city manager, told News 12 New Jersey the investigation into the cause would likely take some time.

"The scene itself where the collapse occurred, it looks like a war zone," Lolacono said, during an interview broadcast on News 12. "We're going to be here for quite some time to get this thing unraveled."

Lauren Pascual, a 24-year-old student who lives on Golf Place a block away from Prospect Towers, said she was leaving her building when she learned of the collapse.

“Usually you can see the roof when you walk down the block, now there’s nothing,” Pascual said, of the front of the structure. “There were firetrucks, ambulances, fire chiefs, helicopters, pretty much every Hackensack official you could name- they were there."

Joanne Rose, secretary at Temple Beth-el near the apartment tower, was working this morning when she heard sirens outside. Officials had closed off Prospect Avenue and nearby Golf Place from traffic, as police cars and firetrucks -- as well as curious onlookers with their cell phone cameras -- crowded the streets.

When officials told her part of the apartment collapsed, her mind immediately raced to two temple congregants whose families live there.

"It's so scary," Rose said. "I can't get hold of them. I called both of them. I left messages."

Real estate websites describe the Prospect Towers as an 18-story high-rise building with a full-time concierge, pool, and sun deck.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Guest]

So now Mr. BP Slava,

Barbara Tokay who has been warning us for 2 years now or longer that the garage fire safety system is still not up to par and has warned us numerous times the intigrety of the garage is questionable. She has sent us all tons of pictures to prove her point. Are you willing to wait to have a possible Hackensack incident?

Do you want to continue ignoring Barbra because she constantly shows you and your stupids up or will you quickly get some one in to do an inspection of at least the intigrety of every garage floor. Because of the new loan agreement, you might not even have enough funds to cover this very serious situation.

Mybe Mr. money bags Kingman can help us out and write a check.

BP. This is scarey stuff.

[Guest]

[Guest]

0diggsdiggTenants say leaks caused Hackensack parking garage collapse
Friday, July 16, 2010
Last updated: Sunday July 18, 2010, 9:33 AM
BY JOHN BRENNAN AND ASHLEY KINDERGAN
The Record
STAFF WRITERS
Prospect Towers residents say water had been leaking in the parking garage for months before it collapsed, and a handful of them hired an attorney Friday to press their case.

The residents are linking the chronic water leaks to the collapse of the underground garage in Hackensack on Friday, though city and county officials say they have yet to determine the cause.

Damian Kazazian, 37, said building officials had been promising to fix a leaking pipe in the garage for about nine months.

“They had dug a hole [at the location of the circular driveway above the garage] with a circumference of about 10 feet back in March and covered it up with tarp, right by where the visitors lot is,” Kazazian said. “They knew about this.”

Resident Amit Shetty described the leak as a gushing stream.

“It was a decent amount of water,” he said. “It’s not something you’d neglect.”

Questions about the driveway and the leaks in the garage were “never answered,” said resident Stephen Zone, adding that management was “very evasive.”

In the hours after the collapse Friday, Kazazian and five other residents retained Samuel Davis, a Teaneck attorney. It was “a totally avoidable disaster,” Davis said.

“There was a leak to where [residents] couldn’t access their covered entryway, and parking spaces had been roped off,” Davis said. “It’s a situation where there was a flagrant failure to appreciate the danger posed by this.”

Davis said residents he spoke with believe that the city was aware of the issue, based on their discussions with building management. But City Manager Steve Lo Iacono said he had not been told about any water leaks in the garage.

“I can’t confirm or deny it, but I have not heard of that at all,” he said. “I’m sure when this thing calms down a little bit, those kinds of things will be have to be tracked down to see if they are true or not.”

Another resident, who would not give his name, said he has lived in the building for about 10 years and had spoken with management about the leaks.

“This morning it looked even worse than usual,” he said of the leak. “It looked like a wave of water” on the ceiling, he said, when he departed a few hours before the collapse.

Matt Barchetto, another resident, said that some trees in front of the building had to be removed months ago when management attempted to fix what he was told were “drainage problems.”

LuAnn Novotny, a resident only since December, described the driveway area as a “sinkhole,” patched up with a metal plate and cordoned off with police tape and a traffic cone.

“At first they told us it was a sprinkler problem,” Novotny said.

Said Ron Lukas, another resident: “We all asked, and they kept saying, ‘we’re working on it, we’re working on it.’Ÿ”

Staff Writers Stephanie Akin, Monsy Alvarado and Denisa R. Superville contributed to this article.

Prospect Towers residents say water had been leaking in the parking garage for months before it collapsed, and a handful of them hired an attorney Friday to press their case.

The residents are linking the chronic water leaks to the collapse of the underground garage in Hackensack on Friday, though city and county officials say they have yet to determine the cause.

Damian Kazazian, 37, said building officials had been promising to fix a leaking pipe in the garage for about nine months.

“They had dug a hole [at the location of the circular driveway above the garage] with a circumference of about 10 feet back in March and covered it up with tarp, right by where the visitors lot is,” Kazazian said. “They knew about this.”

Resident Amit Shetty described the leak as a gushing stream.

“It was a decent amount of water,” he said. “It’s not something you’d neglect.”

Questions about the driveway and the leaks in the garage were “never answered,” said resident Stephen Zone, adding that management was “very evasive.”

In the hours after the collapse Friday, Kazazian and five other residents retained Samuel Davis, a Teaneck attorney. It was “a totally avoidable disaster,” Davis said.

“There was a leak to where [residents] couldn’t access their covered entryway, and parking spaces had been roped off,” Davis said. “It’s a situation where there was a flagrant failure to appreciate the danger posed by this.”

Davis said residents he spoke with believe that the city was aware of the issue, based on their discussions with building management. But City Manager Steve Lo Iacono said he had not been told about any water leaks in the garage.

“I can’t confirm or deny it, but I have not heard of that at all,” he said. “I’m sure when this thing calms down a little bit, those kinds of things will be have to be tracked down to see if they are true or not.”

Another resident, who would not give his name, said he has lived in the building for about 10 years and had spoken with management about the leaks.

“This morning it looked even worse than usual,” he said of the leak. “It looked like a wave of water” on the ceiling, he said, when he departed a few hours before the collapse.

Matt Barchetto, another resident, said that some trees in front of the building had to be removed months ago when management attempted to fix what he was told were “drainage problems.”

LuAnn Novotny, a resident only since December, described the driveway area as a “sinkhole,” patched up with a metal plate and cordoned off with police tape and a traffic cone.

“At first they told us it was a sprinkler problem,” Novotny said.

Said Ron Lukas, another resident: “We all asked, and they kept saying, ‘we’re working on it, we’re working on it.’”

Staff Writers Stephanie Akin, Monsy Alvarado and Denisa R. Superville contributed to this article.


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Some key words/terms: neglect, evasive management, avoidable disaster

[Guest]

This is exactly why the judge should return a verdict in favor of the coalition.

[Guest]

[Guest]

Agree.

[Guest]

have we had any experts check our garage structure since the galaxy garage seems to have numerous problems concerning water pipes bursting, freezing, and broken concrete? are we a tragedy waiting to happen?

[Guest]

We don't need an expert. We have Slava Lener who is a civil engineer.