The scene after the sidewalk shed collapse on Second Ave. in the East Village.
Scaffold
falls outside
2nd Ave.
blast site
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
In an eerie follow-up, a sidewalk scaffolding outside
the scene of the fatal 2015 East Village gas explosion
came crashing down to the ground Friday afternoon.
Fortunately, there were no injuries.
A Fire Department spokesperson said a call came in at
4:12 p.m. reporting the accident.
When this paper called shortly before 5 p.m., the Fire
spokesperson said the fi rst responding unit was still on
the scene, but was telling other emergency responders —
including the Collapse Unit — to either “come in slow or
turn around” and go back to their stationhouses.
Yvonne Collery, who lives at 125 Second Ave., said it
was her understanding that the structure had been hit by
a truck, causing it to fall.
“I heard the shed fall,” she said. “After going downstairs,
I learned a box truck had been cut off by a car
and tapped the corner of the shed. That is when it collapsed.”
Collery previously wrote in this paper about how her
twin cats Laszlo and Lulu survived the gas explosion on
the block.
In the March 2015 disaster, an illegal gas-siphoning
system that had been rigged up in the basement at 121
Second Ave. caused a thunderous explosion that turned
into a raging infer
PHOTOS BY YVONNE COLLERY
Firefighters responded to the scene at E. Seventh
St. and Second Ave. on Friday afternoon
after a protective sidewalk shed collapsed.
Schneps Media MEX May 16 - May 29, 2019 27