Collapsed Brooklyn Building Had Been Crumbling for Years, Records Show

By SIMONE WILSON (Patch Staff)

A four-story building at 1438 Fulton Street collapsed seemingly out of the blue yesterday, injuring at least three people walking by with an avalanche of debris.

The building had been abandoned for some time, and the shop on the bottom floor — Sahel Inc., a hair-braiding and beauty-supply store — had closed its doors. The store’s owner, Bashir Hamadou, tells Patch that the building had no tenants.

New York City property records show the building (and the massive empty lot next to it) belong to Moses Strulovich of CS Management. As part of a multimillion-dollar development project he’s reportedly planning for the site, Strulovich filed an application with the city to demolish the building last year.

It was approved in December.

Here’s where the accountability trail gets murky.

It’s unclear if Strulovich has been doing anything in the seven months since to secure the building, which dates back to 1904.

Strulovich did not answer calls and emails for comment. His voice mailbox is full. When we called one of two men listed as working with Strulovich on the construction project, Peter Stroh, his secretary said he was out of the office. The other man, Ben Brachfeld, repeated that he had no comment before saying: “The building was vacant, and was going to get demolished.” Then he hung up.

It’s also unclear if the city’s been doing its part to regularly inspect the building.

More city records show that in 2012, someone called the city to complain that a ”construction fence” at the property was damaged and that a ”cinder-block fence and brick column on the south lot line” was in danger of collapsing.

When inspectors responded to the call, they decided nothing was wrong.

And back in 2011, when a ”decorate brownstone fell from the 3rd floor center window,” inspectors were appeased when the owner at the time (not Strulovich) erected a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians from any further falling debris.

But today, four years later, no sidewalk shed could have protected pedestrians when the rest of the brownstones fell down.

Gothamist reported last month on a similar phenomenon a few blocks away. Bricks started tumbling off an under-construction building at at 437 Throop and into the street. The city suggested putting up a sidewalk shed. The owner did so, then told Gothamist: “Maybe people should watch out if they see a green fence. Maybe walk on the other side of the street because you never know when something is going to collapse.”

Patch has reached out to the Department of Buildings for comment.

Photo courtesy of the FDNY.