MANHATTAN – It’s a miracle no one was killed when a large section of scaffolding outside an Upper East Side high rise luxury building on East 65th Street came crashing down just before 4:00 this afternoon, leaving a massive wreckage of twisted metal and splintered wood in the building’s circular driveway and shutting down the road to traffic.
Construction crews were working on the scaffolding when the frightening collapse occurred— the shaken men, still in in their hardhats, stood across the street watching as members of FDNY assessed the situation.
One worker injured in the scaffolding collapse outside of 220 East 65th Street— a 26-story condominium tower named the Concorde— was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital by ambulance with minor injuries– two others were hurt but refused treatment.
One witness who was in their apartment across the street tells Upper East Site they called 911 when they heard the huge crash— another says a Lexus was crushed under the pile of debris, but thankfully, it was unoccupied when everything began to fall.
“It would have killed anyone who had been coming out of the building, parking deck, our building side entry or on part of the street,” building resident Nicola Carter told Upper East Site.
ALSO READ: Stunning Horizontal ‘Spider Lightning’ Crawls Across Upper East Side Sky
The Department of Buildings, whose inspectors were on the scene of the collapse, say the crew was putting up the scaffolding at the time of the collapse— the sidewalk shed coming down with so much force it left huge steel beams piled on top of each other like twigs.
The sight drew a steady stream of onlookers from Second Avenue who stopped to snap photos of the wreckage.
Meanwhile, residents of the building could be seen getting redirected by staff to another entrance of the building— the main entry way apparently just too dangerous to have people passing through.
ALSO READ: When A New Popeye’s Restaurant Opens on the Upper East Side
The DOB says the scaffolding company has been ordered to dismantle and take down the collapsed shed and the contractor was cited for failure to safeguard the work site.
For updates around the clock, follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
