The Department of Buildings vacated 1238 Hancock Street because of rotted floor joists.
Tenants called 911 when they said the building started shaking.
There is a Laundromat on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors.
All utilities in the building have been shut down and a precautionary collapse zone has been established along Wilson Avenue, which is closed between Hancock and Weirfield Streets.
The Red Cross says three households are displaced.
Two families needed emergency housing, and they included three adults and two children.
