Damage from Saturday night’s terrorist blast on West 23rd Street.
The terrorist blast that rocked Chelsea on Saturday night and set New Yorkers' nerves on edge was especially frightening to the residents and workers on West 23rd Street, where the explosion blew out windows and caused other damage to buildings.
The management of one of those buildings, a 16-floor condominium directly across from the blast, contacted RAND to assess the damage. They reported that the building’s doors and many windows had been destroyed or damaged, and they were concerned about possible structural damage. Luckily no one in the condominium was injured.
On Monday morning, as a member of RAND’s Emergency Response Team, I was dispatched to the site, at the time still an active crime scene, to conduct a structural evaluation of the building. After checking my Department of Buildings Professional ID, the NYPD waved me through the barricades, and I met with the developer’s engineer and other building personnel.
The FBI had a tent set up to protect their equipment from the rain while they conducted their field survey. I was told that they were searching for more of the shrapnel left over from the bomb. We were steps away from the blast site, and you could still see the pockmarks in the pavement from the explosion.
Viewing the damage from inside a building directly across from the blast.
We observed the exterior of the building and then performed interior surveys of several of the apartments. I found no visible indications of structural instabilities, either locally or along the building as a whole, and we deemed the structure safe with no need to evacuate. I then left the building, escorted by NYPD officers and FBI agents through the barricades, and made my way back to RAND's office, two blocks away on West 25th Street.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured by the explosion and the suspect has since been taken into custody. While the victims and some of the nearby buildings may bear visible scars, I know as New Yorkers and Americans we will continue to stand together, strong and resilient, in times like these.
Christine Hobson, PE, is Senior Structural Engineer at RAND.
