By Courtney Dentch
Three St. Albans business owners blamed city construction for the collapse of brick parapets on top of their stores Tuesday morning that resulted in the closing of a block of Merrick Boulevard.
No one was injured when the bricks and awnings above a travel agency, a grocery and a restaurant at 126-07, 126-09 and 126-11 Merrick Blvd. fell, police said.
The city’s department of buildings blamed the collapse on the owner’s failure to maintain the parapet structures attached to the edge of the roof, a department spokeswoman said. A violation was issued against the building owner, Sojitra Realty, Inc.
“Luckily no one was hurt,” said Patel Narendra, owner of Merrick Boulevard Pharmacy at 126-13 Merrick Blvd. next to the restaurant. “Normally the kids are always hanging out here, but no one was there.”
Although Narendra’s facade and awning remained intact, police officers at the scene said the city Department of Buildings was concerned that it or other nearby businesses may have sustained damage so they closed the block and part of the street for several hours.
Owners had to wait for the Department of Sanitation to clean away the debris before they could close their businesses, said Felix Torres, who was managing the Strawberry Grocery at 126-09 Merrick Blvd., for his brother Vito.
“I can’t even get over there to close the gate,” he said.
Authorities expected the block to be closed most of Tuesday, said Arlene Dacres, owner of Lady A West Indian and American Restaurant, at 126-11 Merrick Blvd.
“This is bad for business, but what can I do?” she said.
The cause of the collapse had yet to be determined by the buildings inspector, but the business owners said the facades and awning below might have come loose from construction on the sidewalk where the city was relaying the cement, Narendra said.
“The city was doing construction on the sidewalk here last week,” he said. “They were pounding to break up the old concrete and the facade must have come loose.”
Torres agreed that may have been the cause.
“They were using a big machine to break the sidewalk, not the little one,” he said. “That could be the problem. We didn’t have problems before this, so maybe.”
The facades collapsed about 9:45 a.m., police said, and two men were clearing away debris from the sidewalk construction when they fell. They were able to get out of the way in time, said Ronnie Harell.
“I was out there and we saw it leaning,” he said. “It kept shaking and it kept shaking, then a guy yelled for us to move. As soon as we moved, it fell.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
