[RummyChick]

fe Urgancı ‏@efeurganci building collapsed on 8th av&14th #Sandy #NYC #eastcoast i never seen like this!!!!

[Jack Hydrazine]

NY updates here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/oct/29/hurricane-sandy-new-york-live-blog

FDNY Responds to Building Collapse on 14th Street
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Building-collapse-14th-Street-FDNY-Eighth-Avenue-176335231.html

[Styria]

That was a fascade wall that collapsed. Look at the brick building next to it - the bricks are oriented the same way. A load-bearing brick wall is two layers thick, and every few rows there is a row of bricks laid perpendicular to the wall, to tie the two layers together. They're usually on the long axis of a brick building, and the other two walls will be fascade, one layer thick.

It's something firefighters have to watch out for and not park a fire truck under, because of the potential for collapse. Hopefully that vehicle in the picture arrived after the wall came down!