Owners of a collapsed NYC garage — a 2023 tragedy that killed 1 — move to demolish an adjacent building

Two years after a fatal parking garage collapse in Lower Manhattan claimed one life, the property’s owners are moving to tear down a neighboring apartment building, according to city records.

Jeffrey Henick, co-owner of the former garage at 57 Ann St., submitted permits this week to the New York City Department of Buildings to demolish a four-story mixed-use structure at 55 Ann St., Crain’s first reported. 

The building, which includes three residential units and ground-floor retail, stands next to the site where the garage once operated. 

The Henicks purchased the building for $3.7 million in 2014. Google Maps

Records confirmed by The Post indicate that Henick and his brother Alan acquired the 55 Ann St. property for $3.7 million in 2014. The siblings also appear to have controlled the adjacent 57 Ann St. lot since 1989 through a company named after the address.

The garage at 57 Ann St. became the center of attention in April 2023 when the nearly century-old structure buckled, killing its 59-year-old manager, the soon-to-be grandfather Willis Moore, and injuring five others. 

The incident prompted city officials to mandate the garage’s complete demolition and issue an evacuation notice for the adjacent 55 Ann St. building. 

The garage, acquired by the Henicks in 1989, was fully demolished following the April 2023 collapse. William Farrington

Following the collapse, a vacate order was issued for 55 Ann St. Gabriella Bass

Tenants of the mixed-use property have not returned, though a partial lifting of the order last year allowed an electrician to access the site, per Department of Buildings data. 

The agency’s records also list two unresolved violations tied to structural damage from the garage collapse.

The still-standing building at 55 Ann St., containing three apartments and ground-floor retail, has two open violations related to damage from the collapse, prompting the Henicks to file permits for its demolition on April 8. William Farrington

The disaster reverberated beyond Ann Street, triggering a broader city inspection campaign targeting aging parking facilities. 

One such property, a garage at 220 E. Ninth St. in the East Village, is now slated for residential redevelopment. 

What the Henicks intend to do with their two Ann Street parcels — located between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District — remains uncertain. No additional construction applications have surfaced in city records.

The Post has reached out to Jeffrey Henick for comment.

The Henicks’ future plans for the two Ann Street lots remain undisclosed. William Farrington

The fallout from the 2023 collapse has also disrupted lives beyond the immediate vicinity. 

A family of five residing at a 12-unit residential Ann Street building nearby, found their lives upended after being displaced indefinitely. 

The Cohen family, as The Post reported in 2024, relocated to a house with a wraparound porch in Westfield, N.J. While their car was lost, their other belongings emerged unscathed, offering a small silver lining amid the upheaval.

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