For the past 36 years, a three-story building in Brooklyn was home to Body Elite Gym.
But on Wednesday, it only took a few seconds for those 36 years to completely disappear into a cloud of debris as the building came collapsing down...
Witnesses say the sudden building collapse, which occurred around 4:30 p.m. EST, sounded like an explosion.
"It was the loudest boom or bang I ever heard," says 35-year-old Vincenza Rizzuto, who was stopped at a nearby traffic light when the building fell. "It was a huge boom and then people screamed and smoke was all over."
Fortunately, the building was unoccupied at the time, according to the NYPD.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’m looking at the pictures and I’m like, ‘wow,’” the longtime gym owner said.
City records reveal the building was being renovated when the construction crew was slapped with a June 10th cease work order for a violation. But it's still unclear if the violation had anything to do with the collapse on Wednesday.
Read the full story on the New York Post.