Two escape Kingsbridge collapse
Business owners survive ceiling collapse; FDNY and DOB look into situation
Piles of concrete mesh lay on the sidewalk outside Picture Perfect Frames. Photo by Todd Maisel
CHERICO REAL ESTATE
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,4 NOVVEMBER 6-12, 2020 BTR
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BY ALEX MITCHELL
Sonia Jourdy and her husband Nohad
survived being closed during the
COVID-19 pandemic and were making a
go of it in their little store, Picture Perfect
Frames in Kingsbridge, the Bronx.
But while they made it through the
coronavirus, a fi nal blow came today
for this ‘mom-and-pop store when hundreds
of pounds of concrete mesh ceiling
collapsed into the store, destroying
stock and nearly killing them in
the process.
At 12:30 p.m. Monday, their efforts to
stay in business came suddenly crashing
down before their eyes, trapping
them briefl y from exiting the store. Arriving
fi refi ghters found hundreds of
pounds of the aging ceiling material,
offi cials believing it to be the original
ceiling from when the one-story
commercial building at 267 West 231st
Street was fi rst constructed more than
60 years ago.
Firefi ghters feared the worst, but
then, the couple shouted out to the rescuers
telling them they were okay. Rescuers
then started pulling the debris
out of the building, making a path for
the couple to escape.
Sonia Jourdy stood outside, her
coat and belongings still inside the
beleaguered store. She said they had
no warning.
“We were inside working when all of
a sudden the whole ceiling came down
on us,” she said as she stared at the
piles of debris and the dust fi lled business
that they had built over 23 years.
“We didn’t get hurt, thank God for that.
We’ve been running this store for 23
years, but the store itself is more than
60 years. We were closed for months
during the pandemic, but now, I think
we are going out of business.”
Her neighbor, Alex Gandia, a State
Farm Insurance agent who’s offi ce is
next door, said it “sounded like a freight
train coming through.”
“It just started rolling down like a
freight train, so we ran out and called
911 and the fi refi ghters were here in minutes
and got them out within seconds,”
he said as he comforted the owner.
Fire offi cials say no injuries were reported
and there were no customers in
the store at the time. The Department of
Buildings was notifi ed to do an immediate
inspection of the building as the entire
ceiling from front to rear had collapsed
in unison leaving only the bare
roof joists fully exposed.
Still an active scene in the Bronx,
the Department of Buildings inspectors
had determined the only part of
the building’s top that collapsed was a
portion of plaster and wire mesh lath
ceiling and that the its joists and other
structural elements of the building “all
appear to be stable.”
The DOB has since issued a “full
vacate order” for the store and a violation
to the owners for failure
to maintain the building later on
Monday afternoon.
This is a developing story,
check back with BXTimes.com for
updated details.
With reporting from Todd Maisel
A Trusted Name In The Community For Over 50 Years
CHERICO REAL ESTATE
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