Rubble continues to be brought down by demolition crew
POUGHKEEPSIE – Some residents of Academy and Cannon Streets in
Poughkeepsie were being allowed to return home as early as Wednesday evening
as demolition crews are working to demolish two, possibly three partially
collapsed buildings that came tumbling down during a violent storm on
Monday.
Funding for the emergency demolition on the affected buildings will be costly, but must be done, Mayor Robert Rolison said Wednesday evening while back on Academy Street.
Rolison said the costs could escalate but noted that the properties are insured and the city’s attorneys will work with the property owners to “work things out.” The mayor said that the first thing that the city needed to do was “put the wheels in motion because this was a time sensitive matter for several reasons.” The city’s building inspector signed an emergency order to get the demolition process started. Overall the mayor indicated that this is a “fluid situation that needs to get done and we’re getting it done!”
Rolison said that tenants that live on the east side of Academy Street
between Main Street and number 13 Academy were allowed to return home Wednesday night
after engineers and the building department have cleared the way.
Tenants on Cannon Street east of Academy are also being allowed to return.
Rolison said that he has been coordinating with the American Red Cross to provide assistance to the displaced tenants, many of whom have been displaced since 19 Academy Street partially collapsed onto surrounding buildings and cars on Monday afternoon.
According to Rolison, number 19 has been demolished down to a “safe” level for now but is considered a total loss. The buildings at numbers 15 and 17 are in a “similar situation,” the mayor said.
The building at 21 Academy Street, which was occupied at the time the neighboring building collapsed, has suffered damage and is being assessed by the city’s building department and engineers before a decision can be made as to the future of the structure.
