Oy.
A building collapse on a Monday morning during rush hour no less is a commuter's hell.
Oy.
What intrigues me are the different presentations of the story.
There's no place like New York City.
I left there for many reasons, but the energy of New York only exists there.
Manhattan is an island. In order to get on to the island you have to cross either bridges or tunnels. I did that for 15 (fifteen) years. Building collapses in Manhattan are also part of my past consciousness because I worked in the construction industry for those 15 commuting years.
At least it wasn't in Midtown - Upper East Side.
Therefore, anything that happens in New York City which involves working there interests me.
And I Do Love New York.
BBC first :http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5165724.stmBuilding collapses in ManhattanA three-storey building on Manhattan's Upper East Side has collapsed after what witnesses said was a huge blast.
New York's fire commissioner said he believed a gas explosion had caused the collapse early on Monday morning.
Fire officials were seen trying to dig someone out of the rubble of the building, which is said to house a doctor's surgery and a beauty salon.
Smoke rose high above the building, located between Park and Madison Avenues, local media reported.
Hundreds of firefighters were on the scene shortly after the fire was reported at 0840 local time (1240 GMT).
Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said they were trying to rescue someone from the debris.
Television then showed rescuers taking the person away on a stretcher.
Two people were reported to have been taken to hospital.
'Boom'
Yaakov Kermaier, who lives next door, told the Associated Press news agency that he heard a "deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me."
Thad Milonas, who was operating a coffee cart across from the building, told AP the ground shook and the building came down.
"In a few seconds, finished. The whole building collapsed," he said.
The White House said the collapse did not appear to be connected to terrorism.
A power company, Con Edison, said they were on the scene at a building next door, responding to a report from a gas customer when the blast occurred, AP reported.
CBS News :Thunderous Blast Rips NYC Building
Explosion Levels Three-Story Building On East Side
NEW YORK, July 10, 2006
Quote
"This could have been an even worse disaster than it already is."
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta
(CBS/AP) A four-story building housing doctors' offices collapsed and burned in an apparent gas explosion Monday after what witnesses described as a thunderous explosion that rocked the neighborhood just off Madison Avenue. There was a previous report that one person was confirmed dead, but
CBS station WCBS-TV reports that there are as of now no fatalities.
Authorities said the apparent cause was a gas explosion, possibly triggered by a suicidal doctor who lived in the building and was going through a difficult divorce. At least 11 people were injured, including five civilians and six firefighters, the Fire Department said.
The doctor, 66-year-old Nicholas Bartha, was pulled from the rubble after talking to authorities on his phone from the wreckage, fire chief Nicholas Scoppetta said. "This could have been an even worse disaster than it already is," Scoppetta said. A police official told The Associated Press that the lawyer for the doctor's wife contacted police recently and said that she had received an e-mail from him in which he indicated he was contemplating suicide.
Authorities believe that the explosion may be related to a suicide attempt involving gas, the police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. "We're still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide. So that's a distinct possibility," Scoppetta said.
Power company Con Edison said its crews had been responding to complaints from a gas customer at an adjacent building at the time of the blast occurred.
Earlier, White House press secretary Tony Snow said there was no indication of terrorism. Heavy black smoke rose high above the building, creating a four-alarm fire, wedged between taller structures on 62nd Street between Park and Madison avenues, WCBS reports. Damage, including shattered windows, could be seen at one of the adjoining buildings. The building reportedly housed a beauty salon and Lt. Eugene Whyte said the building included two doctors' offices.
Yaakov Kermaier, 36, a resident in a building next door, said he was outside when he heard "a deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me." "Everybody started running, nobody knew what was coming next," he said. His nanny and newborn escaped from their next-door apartment unharmed.
Streets around the area were closed off to traffic as ambulances and rescue units responded just before 9 a.m.
Several hundred firefighters are on the scene, WCBS reports.
Witnesses told reporters that they heard a loud explosion, but it wasn't clear whether it was before or after the fire started. "It was a huge explosion and everything shook," Vivian Horan, an eyewitness, told WCBS. "It was terrifying. This whole building was just in pieces on the street." "I saw a huge explosion. I've never seen anything like it. I saw smoke, pigeons flying all over," a cook who worked in a neighboring building also told WCBS. "I saw the building shake." Dozens of onlookers stood behind police tape watching the smoke as it engulfed the sky.©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
.....Totally different energy in the CBS story, inn't there......One must understand that while I'm blogging the story is changing before my eyes.As the myriad of perceptions come in. And as they take what it is they want to make a big deal about and cloud the story with corrupt emotion. Interesting......This is MSN:Blast, fire takes down New York City buildingSuicide attempt suspected; one person rescued under rubble
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 50 minutes ago
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NEW YORK -
A four-story building in midtown Manhattan collapsed and burned Monday morning after what witnesses said was a thunderous explosion that rocked the neighborhood.
Firefighters dug one person, a doctor who owned the building, from the rubble about an hour after the blast, and two other people and a firefighter were taken to hospitals, Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said.
Fire Department Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said officials suspect the doctor, who was in critical condition, might have caused a natural gas leak in a suicide attempt. "It is possible it is a suicide [attempt]," he told WNBC.
Shortly before the blast, a utility crew had been in the building next door responding to a report of a natural gas smell.
The fire department described the collapse as a "major incident," declaring it a four-alarm fire and sending 170 firefighters to the scene.
The building included two doctors’ offices, and records show at least one apartment was in the building as well, Fire Department Lt. Eugene Whyte said. Authorities said a nurse who was supposed to open one of the offices arrived late, narrowly missing the explosion.
‘Everybody started running’
At least two people were under evaluation at a hospital after the collapse. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was still trapped inside the building, on 62nd street between Madison and Park avenues on Manhattan’s East Side.
Smoke rose high above the building, wedged between taller structures on 62nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues just a few blocks from Central Park.
Glass and splintered wood was littered across the block, and windows in a neighboring building were blown out.
Yaakov Kermaier, a resident in a building next door, said he was outside when he heard “a deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me.”
“Everybody started running, nobody knew what was coming next,” he said. His nanny and newborn escaped from their next-door apartment unharmed.
LOL Yaakov is mentioned in every story. The LA Times :
6 Injured in NYC Building Gas ExplosionBy ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writer8:16 AM PDT, July 10, 2006
NEW YORK -- A four-story building housing doctors' offices collapsed and burned in an apparent gas explosion Monday after what witnesses described as a thunderous explosion that rocked the neighborhood just off Madison Avenue. Six people were injured -- two passers-by, one person in the building and three firefighters, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said. He said the only occupant appeared to have been a doctor who owns the building and was rescued from the rubble.
This could have been an even worse disaster than it already is," Scoppetta said. Scoppetta said a gas explosion was the apparent cause. Power company Con Edison said its crews had been responding to complaints from a gas customer at an adjacent building at the time of the blast occurred. Earlier, White House press secretary Tony Snow said there was no indication of terrorism.
Yaakov Kermaier, 36, a resident in a building next door, said he was outside when he heard "a deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me."
The building on Manhattan's Upper East Side included two doctors' offices, and records show at least one apartment was in the building, Fire Department Lt. Eugene Whyte said. Authorities said a nurse who was supposed to open one of the offices arrived late, narrowly missing the explosion.
Heavy black smoke rose high above the building, wedged between taller structures on 62nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues just a few blocks from Central Park. Bricks, glass and splintered wood was littered across the block, and windows in a neighboring building were blown out.
Thad Milonas, 57, was operating a coffee cart across from the building when he said the ground shook and the building came down, said he helped two bleeding women from the scene. TV host
Larry King, who had been in a hotel room nearby, described the explosion to CNN as sounding like a bomb and feeling like an earthquake. "I've never heard a sound like that," King said.
Streets around the area were closed off to traffic as ambulances and rescue units responded about 8:40 a.m. The building is an upscale neighborhood where the 2000 Census put the median home price at $1 million. On one corner of the street is the high-end Luca Luca clothing store, and across the street is the French retailer Hermes.
And there ya have it. The LA Times makes sure to point out that this is where the RICH live.\\ //
