The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-20

visited the fallen wan and mads en- IN
vestiRation. The police DIDN'T kan HE
name Tho watohman said that h was an
8 inch wall that fell
The rear wall Of the Fat house at 2S1
Fast iO3d street fell at II o'clock last night
with a crash that disturbed the neighbor-
hood for blocks. Many Italians live In
this district and they piled out Of their
homes Most Of them seemed to think
that the whole Of Harlem was caving in.
On either side Of the wrecked building
isa big tenement filled with Italians. When
the police reserves from the East i03d
street station arrived most Of them had
left. and those that hadn't got out were
asked TO- The police were afraid TO let
the tonau's go back for fear the remainder
Of tho strI,.tura might fall.
Whom the rear wall collapsed, men we're
at worh on the building under Inspector
John {. 1aynr Taylor's attention had
hnen called TO il early In the evening, for
II had begun to sag In the middle early In
the day. There was no one at work on the
structure yesterday and IL was the watch
man who discovered that the building was
sagging He called the attention Of police
man, who took steps to notify the Building
Department.
While Inspector Taylor was looking
over the building some Of the beams in the
centre Of the structure began TO crack.
He called for more men and started them at
work snoring up the centre Of the building
They were at this work when the rear
wall began TO give way. The inspector and
his men lost no time in getting out Of the
building and few minutes later the entire
rear wall went in with roar.
II was Taylor who told the police that he
didn't think the remainder Of the build
ing would stand long without the rear wall.
The building has a frontage Of IS feet, and
according to persons living on the block
the three upper floors went up With re-
markable rapidity The flooring had not
been put In and the building was q long
way from being completed. Meyer Lud-
man Of ~ East lO8th street Is said TO BE- the
owner Of the building.
Superintendent Of Buildings Hopper L IN
Florida, and during his absence Chief In
spector Bernard j. German IL the active
head Of the department. Deputy Superin-
tendent John l.. Jordan said IsSy night that
he had no personal mo-. ledge OF what
caused the buildings to fed. Jordan has
been M. He said;
without having made an examination
! attribute the sagging Of the buildings
to the thaw. II II more than likely that
the mortar froze when IL was put on the
bricks In very cold weather and that the
warm weather Of the last day or two may
have thawed out. There are a good many
buildings put up In violation Of the build
ing code In the winter time. The code
forbids builders to erec' brick buildings in
very cold weather. but they 60 on doing It
because they know the Building Depart
ment is hampered by not having a sufficient
number Of inspectors.
"Supt Hopper recently asked for forty
additional inspectors and II he had got
them twenty Of them were TO have been
construction inspectors. These construc-
ton inspectors would be held for just such
violations Of the code.
u have not been able to get out to-day
TO see for myself the nature Of the accident
and don't know whether any violations
have been fled against the buildings that
fell to-day. / called up the ONCE on the
telephone and il there are any violations
against the buildings that gave way the
single clerk on duty couldn't find them
Borough President Ahearn heard In
the afternoon that part Of his borough
had fallen down and sent word to Chief
Inspector German to look after them and
see that any defective walls were shored
up Mr. Ahearn himself was busy all the
afternoon hunting up the inspectors.
Mr.. Aheam's secretary said that the
department view OF il was that the bricks
were laid in cold weather and that the
fault was in the mortar How IL happened
that the builders we're permitted TO lay
brick in freezing weather would be in
vestigated to-day.