PM Update: Ward Bakery Collapse Aftermath

It's been a busy day on the Atlantic Yards demolition--or shall we say, building self-demolition--front. This morning a parapet on the Ward Bakery building, which is being demolished by Forest City Ratner, collapsed onto the sidewalk and street below. Fortunately, no one was injured, although a number of cars were damaged. In addition, 350 people from nearby buildings have been evacuated.

Reaction has been ongoing:

1) No Land Grab--...shame on you Bruce Ratner. Also, we'd like to send shout outs to Atlantic Yards Development Group President James P. Stuckey, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Governor Eliot Spitzer, the entire cast of "The Atlantic Yards Community Liaison Office" (currently running on 6th Ave), Community Benefits Agreement Environmental Compliance Czar Delia Hunley-Adossa, and "Joey From Cobble Hill" DePlasco, who we expect to hear from shortly. [NLG]

2) City Council Member Letitia James--"In light of what happened at 800 Pacific Street this morning, and other incidents, I have asked Empire State Development Corporation, who is acting as the lead agency in this project, to halt all work at the "Atlantic Yards" site until this morning's occurrence can be fully investigated, and until there is a monitoring body to oversee all proposed demolition and construction at the site." [Via No Land Grab]

3) Assem. Hakeem Jeffries--"This incident further highlights the need to proceed with extreme caution as the developer moves forward the Atlantic Yards project." [Via No Land Grab]

4) Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn--Can the neighborhood look forward to this quality of work from Forest City Ratner for the next 20 - 40 years? Can the neighborhood survive this quality of work by Ratner and his contractors, and this complete lack of governement oversight? [DDDB]

UPDATE: Atlantic Yards Report has posted the Empire State Development Corp. response, which says that it has sent "representatives to the scene to assess the situation." The statement adds that "Safety is our utmost concern and we’re very thankful no one was injured. Our team is conferring with the developer, the City, and various government agencies to find out exactly what happened and to help coordinate a thorough response. We’re also awaiting the outcome of an investigation by the city’s Department of Buildings so we can take any necessary action."