Voorhies Avenue Shut Down After Machine Collapses At Construction Site For 28-Story Tower

Emergency responders closed down a section of Voorhies Avenue for an hour Tuesday morning after a pile driver collapsed at the construction site for the proposed 28-story tower beside the Sheepshead Bay subway station.

The FDNY says first responders were called to the site, at 1501 Voorhies Avenue, just after 9am. EMS checked on one construction worker, who refused medical attention, according to the fire department.

A spokesperson for AvalonBay, which has partnered with Muss Development to build the sky-scraping residential tower, said the company is investigating the cause of the accident. The Department of Buildings has also opened its own investigation, the spokesperson said.

The first test pilings were hammered in at the site in May and construction got underway in late-September, the spokesperson said.

Muss, the developer behind Brighton Beach’s Oceana Condominium complex, teamed up with Avalon Bay in 2014 to purchase the 87,500-square-foot lot for $16.2 million. Muss also snapped up a nearby property, at Sheepshead Bay Road and East 16th Street, for $4 million.

The developers quickly submitted a plan to build a monstrous 333-foot tall building, with 266,244 square feet of residential space spread across 250 units. The tower will be four times higher than anything else in the area except the Saint Mark Church bell tower.

Controversy has dogged the site since the proposal was first made public by this site. Residents and community leaders have expressed concern the tower could disrupt the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and sewer infrastructure.