Collapsed Brooklyn Gym Was Seen 'Dangerously Bulging' 3 Weeks Ago

CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN — A building collapsed on the corner of Union Street and Court Street in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon, three weeks after city inspectors found it "dangerously bulging over" the sidewalk.

The building — a three-story structure on Court Street that houses a gym called Body Elite — , collapsed shortly before 5 p.m., according to officials. Photos from the scene showed the building completely demolished to ground level.

Only one person had been inside the building when it collapsed, but was rescued with only minor injuries, an NYPD spokesperson said. The 52-year-old man was sent to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

"Miraculously, and still w/prayers, it appears there may have been no fatalities or serious injuries," Council Member Brad Lander Tweeted from the scene.

Police, FDNY and other emergency responders were still on the scene more than an hour later.

Cops told people to avoid the area on Court Street between Atlantic Avenue and 1st Place and Union Street from Henry Street to Smith Street. FDNY was not immediately available for details.

According to Department of Building records, there was a partial stop work order issued to the 348 Court St. building just three weeks ago.

Inspectors visiting the building on June 10 found three construction workers involved in masonry demolition and a 20-foot by-15-foot brick wall "dangerously bulging over" the sidewalk without any protection, records show.

Neighbors told Patch they avoided walking by the building for that reason, fearing the bulging wall would collapse.

"I assumed it was a new thing as it was so dramatic looking I couldn't imagine someone would leave it like that for so long, but apparently it had been like that for many months," said Josie Ensor, who moved to Carroll Gardens in March.

Ensor said the walls were "protruding out unnaturally almost like when something is filled with water." She was ordered back into her house by the NYPD shortly after the collapse, Ensor said.

"When I walked out onto the street to check it out, an older neighbor said as soon as she saw it: 'I knew this would happen,'" Ensor said.

Just two days after the inspection, Body Elite Gym had posted online about their ongoing "exterior makeover." The gym, like all gyms in New York City, had been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The stop work order is in addition to three other Department of Building violations at the address going back to November.

Records also show people had complained about the building's "bulging wall" and "major cracks" since 2005, though the complaints are all marked as resolved. A 311 compliant also shows someone complained about the building shaking and vibrating in August.

"I would like to report a building that looks unstable," one DOB complaint, from 2015, reads.

With reporting by Matt Troutman/Patch

This article originally appeared on the Park Slope Patch