NYC garage collapse survivor feared disaster would strike

An employee who survived the Manhattan parking garage collapse said he and his fellow workers were well aware of the cracks in the building – and that the manager who perished in the tragedy even warned ownership of the condition.   

Pierre Vancol, 50, told The Post Friday that he and his co-workers witnessed huge cracks at the 57 Ann St. parking garage, which toppled Tuesday, killing building manager Willis Moore and injuring five others.

“I always know that thing was going to happen,” Vancol, a Haitian immigrant, said of the disaster.

“They have cracks in the building but you know the way, like, you know, they park the big cars on the roof I say, ‘Wow! It’s not safe, it’s not really safe because up there if anything happens those cars gonna come crashing down. I was expecting that but, you know…”

He also said that Moore recently tried to have something done about it. 

“One guy call to Willis and explaining like, you know, how the crack is. Mr. Willis tells the boss like, you know, something is wrong that time they supposed to fix it,” Vancol said.

“That day he was complaining about it. He is a man like that. If he saw something wrong, he always like you know talk to the boss and tell them what’s going on.” 

Vancol said that the owner apparently later came by, and he was told something would be done.

He claimed that one of the building’s owners was recently at the site inspecting the building for needed repairs.

“I saw, like three weeks ago, the owner like walked in with people. Make pictures and this and that. I saw them outside… take a look at everything,” Vancol said.

It was not clear if Vancol was referring to Little Man Parking, which runs the parking garage, or real estate multi-millionaire brothers Jeffrey and Alan Henick, who jointly run the 57 Ann St Realty Association business that owns the building where the garage operated.

Little Man Parking and the Henicks did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Vancol’s claims coincide with engineering documents obtained by The Post that showed the building has a lengthy history of structural issues that required substantial repairs — including 11-foot-long cracks in the walls and roof.

Fractures were also discovered in at least one spot where the building’s ground floor columns connected to a ceiling support beam, according to the report.

It’s not clear if any of the dangerous issues were ever repaired.

Vancol also noted that management instructed them to park SUVs on the roof because there was no other space for the large vehicles in the garage.

A preliminary FDNY report concluded that the deadly collapse was likely caused by the building’s age and the number of cars on its top deck.

Vancol said Moore was about to leave for the day just before the collapse, going to the second floor to get his car while Vancol readied to take over the evening shift.

The moment the structure began to shake, Vancol said he was reminded of the earthquakes that plagued his native Haiti, and as he ran outside the garage, he could see cars falling from the floors above.

He tried calling Willis, but got no response, with Vancol fearing the worst for his boss, who he described as a “good person” as he began tearing up.

Vancol said that after he lost a previous job, Willis hired him on the spot to work at the parking garage. He said the manager would always help his employees and would chat with them about business on slow days.

One of those conversations involved the several cracks that the workers were concerned over, with Vancol noting that Willis told them he brought the issue up to the owners.

Zach Iscol, the commissioner of the city’s emergency management office, said at a Wednesday press conference that the building was likely unsafe.

“There’s over 50 cars on the roof,” he said. “The building is not structurally sound, you think about hazardous materials that are in the garage, right gas tanks, fluids, further complicated by the fact that there are possibly some electric vehicles in that garage.”

The office of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said Wednesday that they will probe the cause of the collapse, but did not give any details about if any criminality is suspected.