MTA Could Have Prevented Dangerous Brooklyn Roof Collapse: Probe

DOWNTOWN, BROOKLYN — A dangerous roof collapse at Brooklyn Borough Hall station last year could have been prevented had the MTA listened to experts' advice nearly a decade ago, a new report found.

A report released by MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny on Tuesday reveals that the transit agency had been warned in 2010 that it's inspectors were ill-equipped to deal with structures made out of anything but steel or concrete, like the terra cotta ceiling that would fall at the busy Brooklyn subway station in June 2018.

The inspector general had told the MTA about this blindspot after a 2009 collapse at 181st Street in Washington Heights, but transit officials failed to take their recommendation to start hiring special consultants, the report says.

"The agency agreed to our report recommendation for specialty consultants...However, we learned during our current audit that [engineers are] still reluctant to use such specialty consultants," the report said.

The report also found that transit officials had noticed the crumbling Borough Hall ceilings nearly two years before the dramatic collapse in 2018, which hit one woman on the shoulder.

Inspectors noticed defects in the terra cotta in October 2016, and in two other inspections, including one just six months before the collapse. But, because the engineers aren't familiar with terra cotta, they marked the condition as not risky enough to need repair, the report shows.

The inspector general also concluded that the MTA mishandled the aftermath of the roof collapse, marking parts of the ceiling safe even as more debris fell in July and September.

The MTA would end up spending $8.3 million to put in a "protective shield" at the station, which the inspector general said wouldn't have been necessary had they known what they were doing in the first place.

"[The engineers] lack of knowledge and resulting delays in seeking repair further resulted in the otherwise unnecessary installation of a “temporary protective shield” covering the entire station (platforms and track areas) at what proved to be an exorbitant cost of $8.3 million," she wrote.

The Borough Hall station is one of 13 stations across the city that has terra cotta tile, according to a study of station's the inspector general required the MTA to do.

MTA President Andy Byford said in a letter to the inspector general that as of September, staff were told to pay special attention to these 13 stations. New trainings for staff about how to deal with these uncommon materials are going to be put in place before the end of the year, he said.

When asked for a comment on the report, an MTA representative defended the agency's response to the collapse.

“For years the MTA has been using outside consultants to perform special structural inspections and surveys, in addition to NYC Transit inspections that occur annually," spokesperson Abbey Collins said. "When the century-old Borough Hall station ceiling proved defective, engineers assessed the materials involved, shielding the structure, until a full rehabilitation could begin as part of the new capital plan.”