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Wall Collapse on Upper West Side a 'Tidal Wave' of Bricks, Says Man Nearly Crushed

By DNAinfo Staff on April 7, 2010 7:01pm  | Updated on April 8, 2010 7:54am

A wall collapsed on Freedom Place at W. 68th Street on the Upper West Side Wednesday afternoon.
A wall collapsed on Freedom Place at W. 68th Street on the Upper West Side Wednesday afternoon.
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DNAinfo/Josh Williams

By Josh Williams

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — A large chunk of wall collapsed on Freedom Place Wednesday afternoon, spewing hundreds of bricks onto the sidewalk and nearly crushing a man parking his car next to the structure.

The incident occurred around 4 p.m. at the corner of W. 68th Street, where bricks from a 40-foot wall loosened and collapsed onto the sidewalk, the FDNY said.

“It was like a tidal wave,” said Michael Rutkowski, 26, who was parking his car next to the wall when the bricks smashed into his vehicle. “The wall was coming at me in slow motion.”

Firefighters responding the scene reported no injuries and no one trapped underneath the rubble, the FDNY said.

Michael Rutkowski was parking his car next to the wall when bricks smashed into his vehicle.
Michael Rutkowski was parking his car next to the wall when bricks smashed into his vehicle.
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DNAinfo/Josh Williams

The wall abuts an aboveground plaza space for the Lincoln Towers complex overlooking Freedom Place.