QUEENS — A massive chunk of a Verizon building came crashing down onto an Elmhurst Street on Thursday morning, forcing first responders to shut down the block, a Verizon spokesman said.
The 20-by-60 chunk of wall fell off the side of the building on Broadway and Vietor Avenue about 1 a.m., covering cars and the road, according to Verizon and Pix11.
Mark Pak, whose family own the grocery store across from the Verizon building, was walking down on Vietor Street around midnight when he witnessed the collapse.
"First thought it was thunder," Pak, 25, said, "I see something coming off the building, it sounds like a special effects scene in a movie," Pak said, adding he couldn't believe it.
No one was injured. Verizon only had one employee in the building at the time and he made it out safely, a company spokesman said.
The building and the network were operational Thursday morning, he added.
Police officers at the scene said they were waiting for a special apparatus to remove the top portion of the building facade, which appeared to be in danger of falling down.
A complaint was filed against the building in September 2012 for "unsafe conditions on exterior facade," but inspectors did not find any violations and closed it down, according to the Department of Building website.
The northbound lane of Broadway was still blocked off to traffic and pedestrians and Vietor Street was still closed as of Thursday morning.
