Strong Winds Topple Jersey City Home Under Construction; ‘Devastated’ Neighbors Left Homeless: ‘It’s A Disaster Right Now’
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A Jersey City building under construction that was nearly blown over Monday night by powerful winds is now being demolished.
As CBS2’s Kiran Dhillon reports, the demolition process started earlier this morning. Crews are busy at work tearing down the four story home.
For safety reasons, the building next door will also have to come down.
(credit: CBS2)
Piece by piece, from the top down, the home that was under construction on Fisk Street in Jersey City is now coming down. It collapsed Monday night due to powerful winds.
“The wind hit it. There was an unobstructed wind that came across the Newark Bay, we believe, and came straight across. First thing the wind hit was this building,” said Chief Steven J. McGill.
Three buildings on either side, including a learning center, were evacuated as a precaution when it happened.
Tuesday, the DeJesus family that lives in the home next door learned it will also need to be demolished.
“What was your reaction when you saw it?” Dhillon asked.
“Really devastated,” Coraima DeJesus replied.
Horrified, the family gathered their belongings, unsure where they will now go.
“It’s a disaster right now. I can’t believe that this is happening,” DeJesus said. “This is such a traumatic situation right now for our family, like, I don’t understand.”
Gino Ferrulli owns the house the DeJesus family lives in and the Growing Tree Learning Center. He said the center was spared, but he feels for the family.
“It’s a sad day,” Ferrulli said. “The learning center, we have some structural damage in the back, nothing major. But hopefully once this gets all knocked down, hopefully by the end of the week it should reopen, most likely probably on Monday.”
Neighbors say they’re just glad no one was injured in the collapse.
Fire officials say the demolition of the first home will take several days and will likely last until this weekend.
CBS2’s Kiran Dhillon contributed to this report.
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December 07, 2021 at 11:54PM
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