{
  "id": "2023-04-18-pace-university-parking-garage-collapse",
  "slug": "pace-university-parking-garage-collapse-2023-04-18",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Pace University (New York City Campus)",
    "shortName": "Pace",
    "state": "NY",
    "type": "private-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "PaceAlert",
    "enrollment": 13000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-04-18",
    "type": "infrastructure-failure",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Parking garage collapse next to campus prompts evacuation of two buildings",
    "headlinePublic": "Parking garage collapse next to campus prompts evacuation of two buildings",
    "summary": "At about 4:15 p.m. EDT on April 18, 2023, the upper floors of a [four-story parking garage at 57 Ann Street in Lower Manhattan partially collapsed](https://abc7ny.com/post/nyc-parking-garage-collapse-pace-university-lower-manhattan/13180122/), killing the garage's manager and injuring [several other workers](https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/public-safety/2023/04/18/parking-garage-collapse-lower-manhattan-pace-university-mayor-eric-adams-fdny-ann-street), beside Pace University's New York City campus. Pace [evacuated its adjacent 33 Beekman Street residence hall and 161 William Street academic building](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nearby-pace-university-evacuates-2-buildings-cancels-classes-following-parking-garage-collapse/) and canceled classes, advising the community to avoid William, Ann, and Fulton Streets. The next day, in-person classes in 161 William moved to remote format while inspectors checked the buildings.",
    "outcome": "The garage's 59-year-old manager was killed and multiple garage workers were injured in the collapse (local media reported five injured initially, later revised to seven); no Pace community members were among the casualties. 33 Beekman and 161 William were later cleared as structurally sound, with 161 William ultimately closed for the remainder of the spring semester.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 1,
      "injured": 7
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-04-18T16:31:43-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "EMERGENCY ALERT: Please be advised of a building collapse near the Pace NYC Campus. Members of the community should avoid William , Ann, and Fulton streets. Continue to monitor http://pace.edu for updates.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648424088896172035",
      "sourceDescription": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text from Pace University's official Twitter/X account at 4:29 PM EDT on April 18, 2023, 14 minutes after the 57 Ann Street parking garage collapsed at 4:15 PM EDT",
        "Alert header is 'EMERGENCY ALERT', all caps, without the 'PaceAlert:' branded prefix seen in some other Pace notifications",
        "The hazard originated off-campus (a privately owned parking garage at 57 Ann Street) yet forced evacuation of adjacent Pace buildings, a classic dense-urban-campus spillover scenario.",
        "Naming three specific streets gave students precise, actionable boundaries in a tight Lower Manhattan grid; the alert directed monitoring of Pace's emergency-updates page for follow-on instructions"
      ],
      "characterCount": 205
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of April 18, 2023",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "UPDATE Tuesday, April 18: \nPlease be advised, following the partial collapse of a building near our NYC Campus, all classes on the NYC Campus will be canceled. 33 Beekman and 161 William have been evacuated and accommodations are being made for our residential students.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Reconstructed: reporting confirmed classes were canceled and that residential students from 33 Beekman were given accommodations while the city inspected the site.",
        "The update keeps the area closed rather than lifting restrictions, correctly framing it as a status update and not an all-clear."
      ],
      "characterCount": 270,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648432026440310784",
      "timestamp": "2023-04-18T17:03:16-04:00"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "April 19, 2023",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "UPDATE: NYC Building Dept. has cleared students to return to 33 Beekman immediately. Info regarding NYC classes and administrative work impacting 161 William has been updated on http://Pace.edu.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Reconstructed: reporting confirmed city inspectors cleared both buildings as structurally sound and that 161 William classes shifted to remote format on April 19, 2023.",
        "This is a partial all-clear: the residence hall reopened but 161 William stayed in remote mode and was ultimately closed for the rest of the spring semester."
      ],
      "characterCount": 194,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648493509199159296",
      "timestamp": "2023-04-18T21:07:34-04:00"
    }
  ],
  "context": "Pace University's New York City campus occupies a cluster of buildings in the dense Lower Manhattan grid near City Hall. At about 4:15 p.m. EDT on April 18, 2023, the upper floor of a [privately owned four-story parking garage at 57 Ann Street partially collapsed onto the floor below](https://abc7ny.com/post/nyc-parking-garage-collapse-pace-university-lower-manhattan/13180122/), killing the garage's 59-year-old manager and injuring [multiple other garage workers](https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/public-safety/2023/04/18/parking-garage-collapse-lower-manhattan-pace-university-mayor-eric-adams-fdny-ann-street), directly beside Pace's 161 William Street and 33 Beekman Street buildings. Pace [evacuated both buildings, canceled NYC classes, and told the community to avoid William, Ann, and Fulton Streets](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nearby-pace-university-evacuates-2-buildings-cancels-classes-following-parking-garage-collapse/) while the city inspected the scene. Residential students from 33 Beekman were given accommodations. The following day, [city inspectors cleared both Pace buildings as structurally sound](https://thepacepress.org/10242/news/university-students-momentarily-displaced-after-building-collapse-near-campus/), and 161 William's classes moved to a remote format; the building was ultimately closed for the rest of the spring semester per [Pace Press reporting](https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/pace-university-closes-building-for-the-semester-after-parking-garage-collapse/). The case is a vivid illustration of the off-campus-hazard problem for dense urban universities: a structural failure in a neighboring private building can instantly turn a residence hall and an academic building into an emergency-notification scene.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The hazard originated in a neighboring private parking garage, not a Pace building, yet the university bore the evacuation and notification burden, a defining feature of dense urban campuses",
    "Naming specific buildings and three streets gave students precise, actionable boundaries within a tight Lower Manhattan grid",
    "The notification sequence moved from immediate evacuation to a partial all-clear, with the residence hall reopening while the academic building stayed closed for the semester",
    "The garage's manager died and multiple other garage workers were injured (initial reports of five injured were later revised to seven); no Pace community members were among the casualties despite the buildings' adjacency to the collapse"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "NYC parking garage collapse: Pace University building next door closes for spring semester - ABC7 New York",
      "url": "https://abc7ny.com/post/nyc-parking-garage-collapse-pace-university-lower-manhattan/13180122/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Nearby Pace University evacuates 2 buildings, cancels classes following parking garage collapse - CBS New York",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nearby-pace-university-evacuates-2-buildings-cancels-classes-following-parking-garage-collapse/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "University students momentarily displaced after building collapse near campus - The Pace Press",
      "url": "https://thepacepress.org/10242/news/university-students-momentarily-displaced-after-building-collapse-near-campus/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Pace University closes building for the semester after parking garage collapse - PIX11",
      "url": "https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/pace-university-closes-building-for-the-semester-after-parking-garage-collapse/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "One dead, five hurt in Manhattan parking garage collapse: FDNY - NY1",
      "url": "https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/public-safety/2023/04/18/parking-garage-collapse-lower-manhattan-pace-university-mayor-eric-adams-fdny-ann-street",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648424088896172035",
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648432026440310784",
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/PaceUniversity/status/1648493509199159296",
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@PaceUniversity on X (verbatim)"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "infrastructure-failure",
    "building-collapse",
    "emergency-notification",
    "new-york",
    "evacuation",
    "urban-campus"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-28",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}