New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-08-23
Ceiling Crashes
I'm Old C,laridge,
Injuring Five
Work1nen in Main dining
Room of Broadway Hotel,
Now Being Re1nodeled.
Only Ones Hurt in Fall
Sleeping Part Undamaged
Cadillac, Next Door, Which
Takes Over Part of the
Building, Not Affected

Five vsrkmen were injured, one OF
them seriously, when the heavy, gild-
ed ceiling in the main dining room of
the Cadillac Hotel, formerly the Clar-
Edge, sc Broadway and Forty-fcusth
Street, collapsed yesterday afternoon
with crash that was heard for sew
ersl blocks along Broadway and caused
n crowd Of several thousand people to
collect in few minutes after the acct
dent. The falling mass of stucco and
scoresete, leaving an opening so by 20
siess in the ceiling above, did little
,asssrial damage.
A wrecking crew Of nineteen men,
employed by Gerson, Green & Co, GOT
Fifth Avenue, have been at work for
the last three weeks remodel:ng the
are being converted into stores, while
the dining room, leased to Morris M.
CHASER, is being renovated as a res
taurant apart from the hotel manage
mont. About ten men were working
In the room when the ceiling collapsed,
burying Ave. Two of the injured men
picked themselves up and rushed to
the street, but the remaining three
had to be carried out by the police
and fjremen of three ladder companies
which responded to call sent by q
patrolman.
Ceiling Believed Loosened.
Acting Fire Chief Smoky Joe"
Martin arrived shortly after the acci-
dent. A thorough search by his men
ri ri haf he Gyya rirt1e al "
$aken from under the debris were the
only ones injured. The accident, ac-
cording to Chief Martin, was probably
due to the ioosening of the clips which
are put in to support a ceiling of this
type, which was made of concrete,
wire mesh and strips of metal, the
outside being finished in highly or
nate stucco.
Two Of the injured men were at
tended by DR.. Paul H. Bernstein, ambu-
lance surgeon Of the Flower Hospital,
and then sent home, while the more
seriously injured men were taken to
the Roosevelt Hospital. They were
Terenty Itzkowitz, foreman, of gil
Fifth Street, internal injuries; Samuel
Rabras Of 407 Fifth Street, decorations.
and Arnold Green, of 1877 South Ninth
Street, Brooklyn, decorations. Itzkowitz
was the only one of the injured to re-
main at the hospital The men treated
by DR.. Bernstein were John Graham,
of AID Tenth Street, and Michael Marc
noff. of 632 East 118th Street.
No Evidence of Negligence
An investigation by Henry Cash, an
inspector of the Building Department,
d few hours after the accident, con-
WINGED him that there was mo evidence
OF criminal negligence" The contract
ors are Cross & Lewis, AZ West Forty
second Street, and Cash and the police
were satisfied that the contractors had
taken ell precautions to prevent the
accident
Edward Arlington, the proprietor of
the Cadillac, issued statement last
night to the effect that the accident
had not endangered the safety of his
guests. "The accident occurred in the
old dining-room," said Mr. Arlington,
which is under lease to Morris M.
Chaser, who is converting the room
into restaurant and stores. The eff
helent operation of the Cadillac
Claridge Hotel is in no way affected,
nor has the stability of the hotel
building been lessened in the least by
the accident
The old Claridge was recently pur-
chased by Mr.. Arlington from L. M.
Boomer, who, at the time of the sale,
ssaid that ne was obliged to close the
Ciaridge on account of prohibition. 1t
was asserted that the hotel could not
compete with the numerous restau-
rants which violated the Volstead act
and thereby diminished the patronage
in the Claridge dining-room to an APP
preciable extent