2 buildings evacuated in Brooklyn after crack found, 13 displaced
FORT GREENE, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Two three-story buildings in Brooklyn were evacuated Tuesday after a crack was spotted in one of the foundations.
Firefighters responded just after 7:30 a.m. and decided to temporarily evacuate 13 residents in 68 and 70 Clermont Avenue.
As a result of the investigation, the Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order for both buildings.
"The exterior facade has shifted and cracks have formed on the interior of the building, including around the interior staircase leading to the upper floors," the DOB said in a statement.
The facade shift was so drastic that inspectors had to check to make sure gas wasn't leaking.
"When I reach home, I look up and I see the whole building (leaning)," one tenant said. "When I went inside, I was...leaning like the building."
The shifting bricks were visible from the outside, and residents said the inside was much worse.
"I've been seeing all the cracks and stuff outside, and I've been telling the landlord about it," the tenant said. "But he don't seem to be interested in what I'm telling him."
The American Red Cross was called to the scene to offer relocation assistance to affected tenants.
The DOB has ordered a sidewalk shed to be erected at the site to protect pedestrians from any potential collapse of the building facade.
The investigation is ongoing and additional enforcement actions may be taken.
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