Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning, everyone. As you can see from behind us, there was a partial building infrastructure collapse due to what it seems in preliminary investigations, there was some type of explosion. This happened at 8:10 this morning. We received reports of an incident involving the chimney to the boiler room here at NYCHA's Mitchel Houses. This resulted in a partial building collapse.
We are extremely fortunate. At this time, we have no loss of life [and] no injuries. Residents of the F and G lines in the building were evacuated and other tenants can reoccupy the building at this time once we ensure the safety of the structure. First responders quickly arrived on the scene. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the incident.
We're still investigating to make that determination. All this is [an] unfolding situation at this time. And we want to make sure that people stay away from the area to keep them safe. We have traffic and pedestrian restrictions throughout the area. Guests to the entire complex are shut off right now. And inspections of the building are ongoing.
And it's crucial that we ensure that the area is safe. So we're really calling for residents not to go anywhere near the area. I want to thank NYCHA, FDNY, NYPD, NYCEM, DOB, and [the] deputy mayor of Public Safety and Con Edison for their swift response. And as the mayor, it's my obligation to ensure that the tenants and residents in the area are safe.