177 MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach Get Demolished
On Monday, March 15, Jacqulyn Bodenmiller should have been relaxing in advance of her marriage to Bittman Rivas in two weeks. Instead, she stood in the rain outside of her family’s home on MacKenzie Street. The family of five, and Rivas, watched helplessly as their home of 27 years was fenced up and prepped for demolition.
Almost all of their possessions were still locked inside the house, destined to be crushed by a huge mechanical claw.
On top of their home sprawled a three-story wooden frame, once a neighboring stalled construction site at 177 MacKenzie Street. During Saturday’s storm, the building slammed into the Bodenmiller’s home with a thunderous boom and shoved their house off its own foundation. Over the course of the next two days, the FDNY and the DOB inspected the home, declared it in “emergency condition” and an immediate threat. The family’s home could collapse under the weight at any time, according to city officials, and so they began demolishing both 177 MacKenzie Street and the Bodenmiller’s home at 181 MacKenzie Street.
The Bodenmillers are tenants without renters insurance. The American Red Cross put them up in a Sunset Park hotel for the time being, and they’re moving fast to secure an apartment in the area. But all their clothes and other possessions are trapped inside the house, except a few choice items Jacqulyn’s mother, Irine, was able to grab in a brief opportunity.
“It was the saddest part,” said Rivas. “Her mother had the opportunity and she grabbed the veil, wedding rings, and other wedding jewelry. She didn’t grab a thing of her own, just things for the wedding.”
Read more about the structure’s history, who’s to blame, and for photos of the demolition
Courtesy of nolastname
We’re getting a lot of crazy reports here. Among them:
- Power lines are down in spots all across Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, and surrounding neighborhoods.
- Gerritsen Avenue is “gone” under water.
- Sheepshead Bay – the bay itself – is overflowing. The footbridge is underwater and the Holocaust Memorial is being pounded by waves.
- There’s an all-hands fire on Hampton Avenue in Manhattan Beach.
- There’s a partial collapse at MacKenzie Street and Oriental Boulevard in Manhattan Beach.
- The sign at the Golden Gate Inn has collapsed.
- The sign at the gas station on East 17th Street and Avenue Y has fallen.
- Aluminum siding and yard fencing has been stripped away.
- The Bank of America property fence on Avenue Z and East 13th Street is falling into an adjacent property.
- Power line down on East 17th Street and Avenue Z, putting on a fireworks display.
- “A huge backyard gym set came flying down Ave Z and got wedged btwn and parking meter and a fence.”
- We’ve also heard that the boat from before was swept up over the guardrail, onto the sidewalk (which is a ~foot underwater), and then back into the water!
Crazy stuff, people. Add your reports in the comments section. Please – today, tonight, tomorrow – send us photos of the damage! You can send them to nberke [at] sheepsheadbites.com or upload them to Facebook and tag them “Sheepshead Bites”.
We just received these photos of a small sailboat slamming into the Ocean Avenue footbridge, near the Manhattan Beach side. We’re not sure yet what happened or if there’s any damage. But from the looks of it, the boat somehow became unanchored and drifted with the storm’s choppy waves, eventually hitting the bridge. Please leave any info you have in the comments. We’ll update you as we find out more. (Photos and tips courtesy of nolastname)
UPDATE (6:55 p.m.): I’ve been out of the ‘hood all day, and now I’m getting reports that the wind and rain are incredibly bad and doing a lot of damage. Reportedly, the marina is overflowing and water is splashing onto the sidewalks and the bridge. Gusts are also taking down signs in the area.
Perhaps most importantly, the wind has taken out power, phone, and cable lines in a few spots. Please be careful and stay inside! It goes without saying, but downed power lines can be very dangerous.
Please take photos/video of damage and send it over to us. More importantly, be safe!
Photo of Cho, 40, killed in a car accident on Sunday (Courtesy of 1010 Wins)
A 40-year-old woman was killed on Sunday when a car reversed too quickly and slammed into her and four others.
The black 2010 Mercedes SUV was driven by a elderly parishioner (reports of his age vary between 62 and 73 years old) of Pyeong AHN Presbyterian Church (2407 McDonald Avenue). He was pulling out of a parking space around 3 p.m. when he accelerated too quickly and plowed into four other parishioners – three women, a 10-year-old and an infant.
Forty-year-old Sung Won Cho died of her injuries at the scene, while the other four received only minor injuries.
No charges were brought against the driver, and no alcohol or drug use is suspected.
[via Daily News, 1010 Wins, and Fox 5]
Overturned shopping cart, Summer 2009. (Photo courtesy of Lisanne Anderson)
Many of you have just about had it with winter. I never cared for the warm weather, just because people seem to think that they can drag me out into the streets with their groceries. In the winter, they’re less likely to do that. So, if you’re one of those who are seriously looking forward to the coming of the warm weather, think of what happened to me.
Last summer, I had an accident. A shopper was pushing me stacked high — watermelon perched right on top –away from my supermarket home to their own home. I tried to tell him by squeaking my wheels that I wasn’t built to travel on city streets — but this guy wouldn’t listen to me.
As I was rolling down Gravesend Neck Road, the load became too much for me and I started to lean. Next thing I knew, I was on my side and the man who “borrowed” me from the supermarket just stood there. The road was very narrow due to the MTA station construction, so the cars couldn’t avoid running right over the cargo. I may not have a brain, but the sounds that watermelon made when it was being squashed sure made me feel what it must be like to have a brain.
Because of a serious limp I now have, they just keep me in the store holding cans of caviar. Gets a little boring, but sure beats being rolled out into the street where I don’t belong.
You can wish for summer all you want. I’ll be sitting under the A/C unit.
We just got word of an accident at Homecrest Avenue and Shore Parkway, at the southeastern corner of the park. Apparently a car flipped over at around 2 p.m. today. We do not know if anyone was hurt or what role the weather played in the accident. We will pass on more information as it becomes available.
Remember to drive carefully! Here are some tips for driving safely in the snow.
In addition to break-ins and thefts, Sheepshead Bay residents need to worry about out of control drivers at night. One reader sent in these photos of cars that were struck by traffic. The BMW was hit as recently as Sunday night on Coyle Street and Shore Parkway, while the van has sat at Avenue Y near Bedford Avenue for more than a week. We’ve seen dozens more like this in the area. Sheepshead Bites is reminding you to park in a well-lit section of the street whenever possible, and avoid the corners. Not only will it protect you from break-ins, but cruddy drivers will have an easier time seeing you.
See more photos of overnight accidents
Two women were thrown from a car after the driver, a 29-year-old Gravesend resident, slammed into a guardrail early Sunday morning. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.
Oleg Pantchenko was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while impaired, criminally negligent manslaughter, and first-degree manslaughter after the accident. A third woman is in stable condition at Lutheran Medical Center.
According to the New York Times:
The car, a 1996 Infiniti, hit a guardrail while traveling east, veered across several lanes of eastbound traffic and hit other cars, the police said. It then swerved back across all the eastbound lanes and struck a median. The two women, who were in the back of the Infiniti, were ejected. The crash occurred on the parkway near 80th Street at about 3:30 a.m.
Patchenko’s blood alcohol level was 0.054 percent, just above the 0.05 percent threshold for driving while impaired — a lesser charge than driving while intoxicated.
One good thing about all the new condos in the area? They get rid of trees.
Wait, what? How can that possibly be good? Well, it appears Sheepshead Bay has an ongoing battle with trees falling on cars. This sucker (the branch, not the car owner) fell on top of a fancy-shmancy BMW on East 21st Street and Avenue Y. For the most part, it appears the car is undamaged. Except for the gaping hole left in the windshield.
I suppose the owner can always tell his friends it’s the latest accessory to compensate for his impress the ladies. “Look, gals! Who needs a spoiler? Ground effects are for pussies. I have the Air Circulator 4000GS. My hair will look like I drive a convertible with the top down, but I don’t!”
Here’s the rest of that sucker (again, the branch – not the car owner).
Around noon today, a BMW zooming down Oriental Boulevard towards West End Avenue lost control, vaulted over the median, and plowed into the park fence on Hastings Street, said Flori Kostoff of the Manhattan Beach Community Group.
According to Kostoff, the car had several passengers, one of whom was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown. The others were arrested.
Kostoff was dispatched to take photos for the group as part of their ongoing campaign for stronger enforcement of traffic laws on Oriental Boulevard. When she arrived, she said she heard one passenger ask the police if it would take long because he needed to get to an exam. She also said none of them copped to being the driver of the car. The owner was charged with excessive speeding, but he said he was not behind the wheel.
The car left skid marks in the street, damaged a fence, and rendered a bench useless. Kostoff says it could be up to two years for the bench to be replaced, as thats how long it has taken for other benches in the area that were damaged in automobile accidents.
This is an ongoing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
