Stalled Construction Site Collapses On Neighbor's Home During Weekend Storm

On Monday, March 15, Jacqulyn Bodenmiller should have been relaxing in advance of her marriage to Bittman Rivas in two weeks. Instead, she stood in the rain outside of her family’s home on MacKenzie Street. The family of five, and Rivas, watched helplessly as their home of 27 years was fenced up and prepped for demolition.

Almost all of their possessions were still locked inside the house, destined to be crushed by a huge mechanical claw.

On top of their home sprawled a three-story wooden frame, once a neighboring stalled construction site at 177 MacKenzie Street. During Saturday’s storm, the building slammed into the Bodenmiller’s home with a thunderous boom and shoved their house off its own foundation. Over the course of the next two days, the FDNY and the DOB inspected the home, declared it in “emergency condition” and an immediate threat. The family’s home could collapse under the weight at any time, according to city officials, and so they began demolishing both 177 MacKenzie Street and the Bodenmiller’s home at 181 MacKenzie Street.

The Bodenmillers are tenants without renters insurance. The American Red Cross put them up in a Sunset Park hotel for the time being, and they’re moving fast to secure an apartment in the area. But all their clothes and other possessions are trapped inside the house, except a few choice items Jacqulyn’s mother, Irine, was able to grab in a brief opportunity.

“It was the saddest part,” said Rivas. “Her mother had the opportunity and she grabbed the veil, wedding rings, and other wedding jewelry. She didn’t grab a thing of her own, just things for the wedding.”

UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): The Bodenmillers have been given a chance to recoup some items.

Rivas and the Bodenmillers have little doubt who’s responsible. They blame the shoddy construction by the delinquent developer, as well as the Department of Buildings for failing to oversee the work.

The family has had its share of battles with 177 MacKenzie Street. Since construction began in December 2008, the family and other neighbors objected to what they saw as  an abuse of a loophole for “community facilities” to have extra bulk and height. The contractor filed for a ten person prayer room, allowing them to build taller and further out on the property line, but the primary use of the building would remain a residence.

As construction moved forward, complaints caught the attention of the Department of Buildings. Ultimately the agency placed three consecutive stop work orders as the architect failed to make 8-foot means of egress along its sides, and the builders also built an illegal roof extension. According to the neighbors, despite DOB orders the contractors carried on with work before totally abandoning the project in October 2009.

Since then the shoddy wooden work has been poorly protected from the elements, weakening its structure.

An architect not related to the project watched as the building was torn down, and remarked that it appeared there were no substantial structural supports on the first or second floors.

The family said the tragedy could have been avoided if the DOB put more pressure on the developer to maintain or demolish the structure.

“It’s like the Department of Buildings dropped the ball,” said Rivas.

“If the housing department came and checked on it, and seen the conditions, this never would’ve happened,” added future brother-in-law Christopher Bodenmiller.

The registered owner of the house – Alla Shikham Ripa – could not be reached for comment, nor could the person a source told Sheepshead Bites is the “real” person behind the project, Daniel Estrin.

However, someone that appeared to be related to the project, who only gave his name as Steven, came to take photographs of the demolition. He blamed the Bodenmillers for the problem, saying that their objections caused the building to get delayed and ultimately cancelled, and that the devastation never would’ve happened if they had minded their business.

“It’s karma. Karma comes back on you,” Steven said.

The Bodenmillers also said that when the house originally fell and they ran out of their homes, Steven was there and remarked, “Now you’ll sell it to us?”

The family isn’t focusing on the developer, though. As of Monday afternoon, they continued to stand in the rain, hoping desperately for permission to recoup some of their possessions.

“I have my savings. Rent is a little more [in the new apartment] than we pay now,” Christopher said. “If we can get inside and get a little of our stuff back, that’ll help. Anything will help.”

“I sit on on the pastoral council [at St. Marks/St. Margaret Mary] so I know some of the things that are available to us,” Christopher added. “I just never thought I’d be the one using them.”