Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Debris Falls in Times Square, Building Owner Slapped with Violation

By Nicole Bode | December 23, 2010 11:27am | Updated on December 23, 2010 2:31pm

By Gabriela Resto-Montero and Nicole Bode

DNAinfo Staff

TIMES SQUARE — The Buildings Department issued a violation against owners of a building at 7 Times Square Thursday for failure to maintain a billboard that dropped wires hundreds of feet onto the sidewalk below.

No one was hurt in the accident, which happened shortly after 9 a.m. at the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway, a spokesman for the FDNY said.

But a section of Times Square had to be closed off after debris plummeted from the 47-story building onto the sidewalk below.

Boston Properties, which owns the building, will face fines for the violation and appear in a hearing before the Environmental Control Board, said a spokeswoman with the Buildings Department.

Staffers collect debris from the sidewalk in Times Square Thursday.
Staffers collect debris from the sidewalk in Times Square Thursday.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

A spokeswoman for Boston Properties did not return repeated calls for comment.

Police closed off the crosswalk and a portion of the Times Square pedestrian plaza from 42nd to 43rd Streets while crews cleaned up the debris. The crosswalk was reopened shortly after 11 a.m.

A pile of debris fell onto a crosswalk in Times Square Thursday, but no one was hurt, police said.
A pile of debris fell onto a crosswalk in Times Square Thursday, but no one was hurt, police said.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero