Massive concrete awning collapses onto NYC sidewalk in scary, ‘very Final Destination' type scene
This historic 10-by-20-foot Hotel St. George awning, perched above the Clark Street subway station in Brooklyn Heights, came crashing down in a thunderous roar just after 7 a.m., according to witnesses and startling footage obtained by The Post.
No one was injured or walking near the Henry Street subway entrance when the collapse occurred – but a city council member warned the outcome could have been far worse during the weekday rush hour.
5 Collapsed awning and hotel sign at Hotel St. George.
Instagram / Lincoln Restler
'I was shocked by the collapse,' Councilmember Lincoln Restler told Gothamist.
'We are very lucky that this happened at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, because if it happened at 7 a.m. any other day of the week, we would've in all likelihood encountered serious injuries, if not fatalities.'
5 The historic marquee suddenly collapsed just after 7 a.m. Sunday.
Instagram / Lincoln Restler
Restler, who shared video and images of the dramatic scene on social media, said he's received complaints from constituents about the 'grimy' and 'abysmal' station for years.
He added that the head of New York City Transit toured the property Friday — just days before the near disaster — at the city council's request.
5 A witness said it sounded like a thunderstorm when it smashed down on the sidewalk.
Instagram / Lincoln Restler
'It's grimy. It's very rarely cleaned and we have a number of small businesses that are based in that space and it's often so hot that they struggle to stay open on the warmest days of the summer,' Restler told Eyewitness News.
'So this is not a landlord that has been investing or caring for or properly maintaining the Clark Street subway station, and clearly they're not maintaining the exterior of the building either.'
City building officials said a similar marquee above the station's other Clark Street entrance is also showing signs of neglect and poor maintenance, Gothamist reported.
5 The overhang was left dangling off the building, covering nearly the entire sidewalk.
Instagram / Lincoln Restler
The famed Hotel St. George was once the largest hotel in New York City, with sections dating back to the 1800s. Today, it houses retailers and apartments, with its former lobby serving as an entrance to No. 2 and No. 3 trains – which reportedly bypassed the mangled station all day Sunday.
Alyeen Rojas, a 19-year-old New York Film Academy student who lives at the iconic hotel, said it sounded like a thunderstorm when the façade crashed down onto the sidewalk.
'Imagine that someone went to that station in the morning,' Rojas told The Post.
5 Officials said no one was hurt, but a city council member said the situation could have been deadly during rush hour.
Steven Vago/NY Post
'Someone could have died. The building is so old, I think that's why [the awning collapsed].'
The steel and concrete overhang is now dangling from the building, nearly covering the entire sidewalk, with debris scattered across the cordoned-off site, according to photos taken at the scene.
'Thank God it didn't happen at 7 a.m. on a Monday,' Jamie Dalton, a 21-year-old Brooklyn Heights resident, said.
'It's very 'Final Destination.''
Restler could not immediately be reached.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
Iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree used in immigrant mom of four's new home: 'A miracle'
It's a step in a new direction. A single mom of four is celebrating Christmas in July after snagging the keys to a brand new home with a taste of iconic holiday cheer — the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Binta Kinteh, a healthcare worker who immigrated from West Africa, completed her long-sought mission of achieving the American dream Friday, when she stepped into her new home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Friday. Advertisement The home is adorned with a special nod to Christmas in the city — wood from last year's Rockefeller tree. 6 Binta, with her kids Lamin, Roos, Amadou and Favakary, moved into their new Habitat for Humanity home on Friday. Hans Pennink 'I was so happy. As a single mother of four kids struggling in this country, being an immigrant, to have a home on my own. I'm so proud of myself,' Kinteh told The Post Tuesday, when the excitement had finally begun to settle in. Advertisement 'It was a journey. The kids were all happy. We have our home. Their mom gave them a home where they can call, 'Our mother's home. This is ours.'' Kinteh was one of the lucky recipients of one of 42 Habitat for Humanity homes across the city of Pittsfield and town of Housatonic outfitted with lumber from last year's tree, which was grown from the very same Western Massachusetts soil. The Kinteh home, however, has the sole distinction of being the first in the Rockefeller-Habitat's 18-year partnership to feature a riser emblazoned with 'Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 2024' on the bottom step of the new house. 6 The house was made with lumber from the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. Hans Pennink Advertisement 6 The 74-foot Norway spruce had been grown in West Stockbridge. Getty Images 'That's history! I'm so grateful,' Kinteh said. The Pittsfield home is the very first that Kinteh has called her own since leaving her life in The Gambia behind in 2012 with four young kids in tow after her husband ditched the family for another woman. Kinteh went through the arduous process of obtaining her Certified Nursing Assistant license while working to square away her immigration papers, all while struggling to pay rent at their crammed public housing unit. Advertisement 6 Kinteh moved to the US in 2012 as a single mom of four. Hans Pennink Her job, though demanding, kept her grounded and gave her purpose — her colleagues and patients alike lovingly referred to her as 'Mama B.' 'I love that job so much. It makes me connect with people who have depression like myself … When I compare that with mine, I said, 'I am suffering but some people are suffering more than me.' It gave me more courage to move on,' Kinteh said. Kinteh applied for the home in the spring and learned she was chosen within a few weeks — an extremely quick process she called a 'miracle.' 6 All four kids will get their own room in the new house. Hans Pennink While Kinteh didn't know much about the Rockefeller Tree, much less that the towering 74-foot Norway spruce had been grown just 10 miles away in West Stockbridge, her four kids were over the moon. The tree was donated by Earl Albert last year to honor the memory of his late wife, Leslie. The couple had planted the then-sapling as newlyweds back in 1967 to celebrate their new life together. The kids, aged 18, 15, 12 and 8, had unwittingly watched the tree lighting this past season without realizing its lumber would soon be in their home that they eagerly watched Habitat for Humanity builders quickly bring to life. Advertisement 6 The Kinteh house is the first to have the Rockefeller Tree branding on display on the stairs. Hans Pennink 'My middle son, every day, would pass by the house and say, 'Mom, they're almost done!'' Kinteh said. Now, the family is settling into their new digs and enjoying the extra space and privacy it is affording each of them — but life hasn't slowed down for the supermom. Kinteh is putting plans on hold for a proper housewarming party to celebrate — but after she takes her 18-year-old daughter on college tours this week. 'Maybe in a week when I rest!' Kinteh said.
The Hill
10 hours ago
- The Hill
First US homeless shelter for transgender people opens in New York City
The nation's first shelter for transgender and gender-nonconforming people experiencing homelessness opened its doors this week in New York City. The shelter, a joint venture between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will provide transitional housing and specialized services for trans New Yorkers who are homeless, including mental health support and job training and placement. The city is fully funding the facility in Long Island City, which will cost $65 million to operate through 2030, the local news outlet Gothamist reported. 'It's been just a labor of love to watch it manifest, to hear from community what it is that they want to see in a project, in a program, and to watch other community advocates become excited about it as well,' said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the organization that will manage the shelter. The shelter's name, Ace's Place, honors Coleman's late mother, who would have turned 72 this week. 'Ace was my mom's nickname, and she dealt with her own challenges and struggles, but the one thing was that she always had a home because my grandmother made sure of it,' Coleman told The Hill in an interview on Wednesday. 'Regardless of what my mom's struggles were, she always had a safe place that she could come and reset and recenter. I thought that was the best way to honor her memory, while also doing the same thing for community members.' With 150 beds — housed in 100 single bedrooms and 25 doubles — residents will each have access to their own restroom and two commercial kitchens. One of the kitchens will be used as a teaching space for the shelter's culinary arts and hospitality program, Coleman said, part of its commitment to facilitating economic mobility. Ace's Place will also have a full-time, onsite psychiatric nurse practitioner who will work closely with social workers and other credentialed staff providing mental health support, according to a news release announcing the shelter's opening. Added onsite clinical staff will provide health education through coaching and counseling sessions, and yoga and meditation classes are also available to residents. Coleman and Destination Tomorrow plan to work closely with New York City officials in operating the shelter, Coleman said. 'We couldn't be prouder to make this historic announcement that strongly affirms our values and commitment to strengthening the safety net for transgender New Yorkers at a time when their rights are roundly under attack,' New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said in a statement, referencing a string of recent Trump administration actions targeting transgender Americans. Joslyn Carter, administrator for the city's Department of Homeless Services, said Ace's Place is the nation's first city-funded shelter of its kind. 'New York City has long been a leader in advancing LGBTQ+ rights,' she said. In the U.S., LGBTQ people experience homelessness at disproportionately higher rates than heterosexual and cisgender people, studies on the subject have found. Roughly 17 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, the Williams Institute reported in 2020, and more than 8 percent of transgender people said they were homeless in the past year. A 2018 National Alliance to End Homelessness analysis of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data found that transgender people accounted for approximately 0.6 percent of the general population and 0.5 percent of the nation's total homeless population. The U.S. Transgender Survey, the largest survey of transgender people in the U.S., reported in 2024 that 30 percent of respondents said they had experienced homelessness in their lifetime. Reported rates of homelessness are even higher among transgender people of color; more than half of Black transgender women who took the U.S. Trans Survey in 2015 said they experienced homelessness in their lifetime. Nearly 60 percent of Native American transgender women also reported experiencing homelessness, as did 49 percent of trans women of Middle Eastern descent and 51 percent of multiracial trans women. 'For far too long, Transgender and non-binary people — especially Black and Brown Trans people — have been forced to navigate systems never built for us,' Bryan Ellicott-Cook, a New York City-based transgender rights advocate, said in a statement about the opening of Ace's Place. 'This shelter, created for Trans people by Trans people, represents safety, dignity, and a tangible investment in our community's right not only to survive, but to thrive. It continues to show what we have always known — that Trans people are the ones taking care of each other, from elders to youth, from healthcare to housing and beyond.'
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Video shows hotel awning collapse over Brooklyn Heights subway station entrance
Editor's note 5:22 p.m. 8/4/25: This story has been updated to reflect a response to Councilman Restler's remarks by Educational Housing Services. An awning that was attached to a Brooklyn Heights hotel and sat above a subway station entrance collapsed on Sunday morning. The incident, which was captured on surveillance video, happened two days after a local New York City Council member convened a meeting to address conditions there. Hotel St. George awning comes crashing down The footage shows the overhang for the Hotel St. George, which opened more than 100 years ago, crashing down just after 7 a.m. It used to sit right above the entrance to the Clark Street subway station. Luckily, no one was walking underneath at the time. Councilman Lincoln Restler claimed the building is the responsibility of Educational Housing Services, or EHS, which provides dormitory housing. Just this past Friday, Restler says he met with the NYC Transit president about a game plan to address the issues. "We get complaints from our constituents, our neighbors, every week about the stench of sewage, about the grime and the filth," Restler said. "They've been non-responsive to my office, and to the MTA about improving conditions in the station." EHS responded to the councilman's allegations Monday, disputing his assertion and saying they do not own the building. "We are aware of the collapse of the marquee at the St. George residence. We are relieved to report that no injuries were sustained, and we are thankful for the swift response of emergency personnel who secured the area quickly. While EHS provides student housing services within the St. George property, we are not the owners of the building. This has been reported to the public incorrectly by the MTA and several elected officials. We are in active communication with the building's ownership and management to ensure any necessary repairs are addressed promptly. The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely," EHS said in a statement. DOB says structure showed poor maintenance Later Sunday, workers boarded up the subway station entrance. The MTA says trains are skipping stops for the 2 and 3 lines at Clark Street, as the Department of Buildings investigates. A DOB representative said the 15-foot by 20-foot concrete and steel beam that collapsed showed signs of poor maintenance. Inspectors noted that the steel beam is completely corroded through at several locations. They are also inspecting a second similar awning on the other side of the building, which, they say, shows similar signs of poor maintenance. The DOB website shows two open violations from 2021 related to the building's façade, and a third from 2022 in violation of a local law related to façade safety. "We have a service that we are willing and ready to provide, and so not having the ability to provide customers the transportation that they need and deserve is just unacceptable," the MTA President of NYC Transit Demetrius Crichlow added Monday after checking out the damage. "So the first thing is how do we get service back to this station, and there are two entrances that need to be addressed." For now, the DOB has issued a partial vacate order, which means small businesses there, like a shoe repair shop, bodega and florist, cannot operate for the time being. The DOB said there could be enforcement actions as it investigates. Local residents say it's a miracle no one was hurt People who live in the area were stunned by the collapse, and thankful nobody happened to be walking underneath it at the time. "It was kind of wild to see. It made me think a bit more about my surroundings," a local resident named Leon said. "It's a historic landmark. I walk by it with pride every day. No one expects it to fall on your head," Brooklyn Heights resident Adam Green added. "God forbid it happened at 12 o-clock on a Monday, 12 o'clock noon on Monday. It would have been catastrophic," a Brooklyn Heights resident named Freddie said. "I'm just upset. What if I was walking under there?" resident Shakira Chamrai said.
