BROOKLYN — The Polish language news site Nowy Dziennik has obtained footage of a massive billboard with an ad for the New York State Lottery collapsing onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Friday.
In the footage, which can be seen 28 seconds into the clip, the billboard, on Meeker and Manhattan avenues, collapses like a felled tree during the high winds that were associated with the day's cold front.
The toppling billboard triggered a partial collapse of 421 Meeker Ave. as well as massive traffic delays on the highway and surrounding streets for about an hour.
One lane of traffic remained closed as of Saturday.
Witnesses reported hearing shaking just before the massive sign fell down in a heap, raining debris onto the highway and street below.
There were no reports of structural damage on the BQE.
City officials said that the ad was illegal under the area's zoning laws and should not have been attached to the billboard.
Billboards are prohibited within 200 feet of a highway and are allowed a square foot of advertising for each foot they are located away from the roadway, according to the city's Department of Buildings.
