Stairwell collapses in five-story apartment building

A stairwell in a five-story Bronx apartment building collapsed Wednesday night, temporarily evacuating more than 30 residents. Tenants of 983 East 181st Street were able to return to the building hours

News 12 Staff

Nov 29, 2007, 11:58 PM

Updated 6,158 days ago

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A stairwell in a five-story Bronx apartment building collapsed Wednesday night, temporarily evacuating more than 30 residents.
Tenants of 983 East 181st Street were able to return to the building hours later. They say the stairwell had been unstable for weeks. Fire officials removed pieces of a marble ledge and other parts fell through the floor below.
Luckily, no one was hurt but tenants say the incident is indicative of larger problems with their neglected building. They say the front door is missing a lock and mailboxes are broken. They say there are graffiti and holes on nearly every wall and garbage all around.
The tenants say they spent two weeks without heat, which they say is a heath hazard for the asthmatic children in the building. However, they have no one to turn to for repairs they say.
Moreover, the tenants say the city has issued a number of violations to the building owner but there has been no landlord or superintendent to be found. The owner of the building owes the city more than $44,000 in fees.
News 12 the Bronx reached out to the building?s listed owner, but the calls were not returned.