New York City Department of Buildings shuts down 4 parking facilities over safety concerns in wake of deadly garage collapse
NEW YORK -- More than a week after the deadly parking garage collapse in the Financial District, the Department of Buildings has shut down four parking facilities over safety concerns.
A Rector Place garage in Battery Park City is turning away any car that doesn't have a monthly pass.
"I have to look around where I have to park," one driver said.
A partial vacate order now stands for 60% of the garage after the DOB says it found extensive corrosion on concrete slab reinforcements and cracks in the concrete of the ceilings.
Since last week's deadly parking garage collapse on Ann Street, the city says 78 parking structures have been inspected, and four properties were found to have deteriorated so much, they're a threat to public safety.
"Hopefully these problems will be addressed," Battery Park City resident Gaurav Chandra said.
In Coney Island, a full vacate order has been issued at a Stillwell Avenue garage.
A partial vacate order was issued at a 12th Street location in Park Slope, where inspectors found corroded slab beams, deteriorated vehicle ramps and a roof in disrepair.
The DOB says these buildings are all required to hire their own engineers to inspect the structures at least once every six years.
"I would hope that everyone is doing their part to make sure that people stay safe," Battery Park City resident Stephanie Hubbell said.
- Related story: Funeral held for Willis Moore, longtime manager killed in NYC parking garage collapse
These shutdowns happened just hours after a funeral for 59-year-old parking garage manager Willis Moore, who died in last week's collapse. Moore had worked at the parking business for more than 30 years.
Employee turned-friend Garfield Panton told CBS2 about the condition of the garage.
"We always had to patch up the building, take down concrete and patch it back up. Pieces of the building was falling down, but we'd just patch it back up," he said.
While the owner of the Ann Street garage says they are working with investigators, repairs on the four other garages must be completed before vacate orders can be lifted. We tried to track down the owners of these garages but had no luck.
Other shutdowns may be underway as the DOB continues reviewing structures throughout the city.
