Crumbling Clinton Hill Building Suffers Collapse, Officials Say

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — A Clinton Hill building neighbors say has been falling apart for years suffered a partial collapse Wednesday morning, according to the FDNY and city records.

Firefighters rushed to 100 Washington Ave. — a vacant 3-story home near the Brooklyn Queens Expressway — about 9:30 a.m., according to the FDNY.

No one was hurt in the collapse, according to fire officials.

Where the collapse occurred remains unclear, but FDNY units are waiting for the buildings department and utility companies to complete a safety inspection, officials said.

The abandoned three-story complex has been falling apart for years, according to complaints filed with the Buildings.

In 2015, in fact, the fire department itself reported bricks falling off the side of the building, prompting officials to recommend facade repairs, according to a complaint.

The following year a sidewalk shed was built in front of the house under the auspice of repairs, DOB permits and Google Map photos show, but a years-long series of complaints ensued from neighbors saying that the work was unsafe or not being done at all.

"The scaffold shed has been up for five years with no activity," reads a complaint filed in 2020. "The scaffold has nails falling from it and the wooden part has fallen. This is my fourth complaint and nothing has been done to remove it."

The shed has seemingly been taken down since, Google Map photos from the following year show, but complaints continued to roll in from neighbors saying the building was abandoned and decrepit.

"[The building] basement is leaking and no one is living in it and there's no landlord present," reads a complaint filed in March.

In response to most of these complaints, officials issued fines or were unable to enter the building for an inspection.

On Wednesday, the fire department filed another complaint with the DOB over the partial building collapse, requesting that the agency look into the building's stability.

The results of the inspection were not immediately available.