City Will Inspect Bank Street Building

The city will inspect a Bank Street building that suffered a partial roof collapse on Saturday evening to determine what action needs to be taken.

A battalion chief with the said a city building official, in conjunction with the owner of 575 Bank Street, will examine the building on Monday. Two apartments, as well as the , sustained water damage after heavy rains and the weight of the snow led to the damage.

Bank Street from Howard Street to Shaw’s Cove remained blocked off by police officers due to the condition of the building. The battalion chief said the city was “erring on the side of caution” in case more of the building collapsed.

Mayor Martin Olsen said interim City Manager Denise Rose sent a memo on the situation to city councilors on Saturday evening. Olsen said the memo noted that the church’s services must be moved for the present time, and that the neighboring was advised to move its vehicles to a city lot across the street. Rose also wrote that the landlord was uncooperative.

Paul Shipman, spokesman for the Connecticut Region of the American Red Cross, said 16 people constituting nine families were affected by the collapse. He said financial assistance was provided for emergency food needs for some residents.

“We provided temporary lodging for three of the families,” said Shipman. “The remaining families had alternate places to stay with family and friends.”

The building houses the church, 16 apartments and Christina’s Tarot Card and Palm Reading.