NYC blows up building to make way for new park
NYC blows up vacant building on Governors Island to make way for new park
In this combination of Associated Press photos, Building 877, the largest non-historic building on Governors Island, is imploded to make way for the new Governors Island park, Sunday, June 9, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City officials have blown up a vacant building to make way for a new park.
The 11-story brick apartment building on Governors Island formerly housed Coast Guard families. The Trust for Governors Island says the building has been vacant since 1996 and does not meet current building codes.
The implosion just after at 7:30 a.m. Sunday took about 10 seconds. It was overseen by the city Fire Department and the Department of Buildings.
Governors Island, a longtime military base, is in New York Harbor off the tip of lower Manhattan. The city now controls the island and is redeveloping it, with some of it becoming parkland.
The island was open to the public Sunday as normal after the implosion.
