# Explosion in Upper Manhattan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535 "2014-03-12T14:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/1 "2014-03-12T14:12:10Z")
[Police and fire officials are on the scene of an explosion and partial building collapse at 116th Street and Park Avenue – East Harlem residents reported hearing a large explosion in the six-story apartment building around 9:30 a.m.](http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9463294) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/2 "2014-03-12T14:15:40Z")
IT’S TERRORISM!! Whoops, what I meant was “Probably a gas explosion.” Or…CT warning… Did anyone see a Malaysia Air 777 fly in to it? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/3 "2014-03-12T14:27:51Z")
According to CBS, > [@](#): > > Metro-North said it happened in a building adjacent to the tracks. Service in and out of Grand Central Terminal is suspended until further notice. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/4 "2014-03-12T15:26:53Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Whoops, what I meant was “Probably a gas explosion.” [Seems that way, though the bomb squad is on scene just in case.](http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/12/explosion-reported-at-harlem-building/) Whatever it was took out two buildings. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/5 "2014-03-12T15:28:44Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > IT’S TERRORISM!! > Whoops, what I meant was “Probably a gas explosion.” > > Or…CT warning… > > Did anyone see a Malaysia Air 777 fly in to it? No, it couldn’t be terrorism, it’s gotta be those evil “assault rifles” fault… ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/6 "2014-03-12T15:39:01Z")
All other issues aside… Metro-North just can’t catch fuckin’ break, can they? ETA: Glanced at news and pix. I wonder if we’re looking at a self-cancelled terrorist attack? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/7 "2014-03-12T15:51:13Z")
My brother works in East Harlem, hope he’s okay. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/8 "2014-03-12T15:56:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > ETA: Glanced at news and pix. I wonder if we’re looking at a self-cancelled terrorist attack? It’s much more likely it’s an accident, and there are reports that there had been gas leaks in the area, possibly even in that building last night. These are two five-story residential buildings in Harlem. If Google Street View is up to date, there’s a storefront church in one building and a piano store in the other. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/9 "2014-03-12T16:00:03Z")
My first instinct when reading the headline was “gas explosion” as well ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/10 "2014-03-12T16:02:48Z")
Does Bill Clinton still have an office in Harlem? If so, how far from the explosion is his building? I’m guessing gas leak, don’t see any way this would be terrorism. How much time between initial explosion and collapse? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/11 "2014-03-12T16:07:49Z")
[Two deaths confirmed so far.](http://cnnuslive.cnn.com/Event/Harlem_Explosion) Has anyone heard what type of building it was? The news reports are conflicting & confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/12 "2014-03-12T16:12:30Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Does Bill Clinton still have an office in Harlem? If so, how far from the explosion is his building? His office is on West 125th Street, so it’s about nine blocks north and two and a half blocks west of these buildings. > [@](#): > > I’m guessing gas leak, don’t see any way this would be terrorism. In fact Con Edison got a phone call about a gas odor and a crew was already on the way when the explosion happened. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/13 "2014-03-12T16:15:32Z")
Apparently it had apartments there. Gas explosions are always very bad. Buildings just disappear from the force. [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/building-collapse-harlem-article-1.1718814](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/building-collapse-harlem-article-1.1718814) > [@](#): > > “For weeks we’ve been smelling gas," said Ashley Rivera, 21, holding back tears. “We saw people flying out of the window. … Those are my neighbors.” ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/14 "2014-03-12T16:16:44Z")
> [@](#): > > “For weeks we’ve been smelling gas," Fuckin’ what? How the hell does this persist? Is this on the gas company or the building owner? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/15 "2014-03-12T16:18:27Z")
[The buildings, assuming these links work and the addresses are right.](https://www.google.com/maps/@40.799655,-73.943159,3a,75y,290.6h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sUO4eEzH6wIaeVtxjbK0bEg!2e0) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/16 "2014-03-12T16:42:21Z")
So who would be living there: the poor, the middle class or the more well off? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/17 "2014-03-12T16:42:26Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Fuckin’ what? How the hell does this persist? Is this on the gas company or the building owner? I have a strong feeling that particular witness is full of shit. Con Ed takes reports of gas smells very seriously. It is unlikely in the extreme that people all over a neighborhood would have been smelling gas for weeks without reporting it. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/18 "2014-03-12T16:48:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [The buildings, assuming these links work and the addresses are right.](https://www.google.com/maps/@40.799655,-73.943159,3a,75y,290.6h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sUO4eEzH6wIaeVtxjbK0bEg!2e0) I think that white van parked out front is up to no good! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/19 "2014-03-12T16:57:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It is unlikely in the extreme that people all over a neighborhood would have been smelling gas for weeks without reporting it. Never underestimate human stupidity – or laziness, in this case. It does look like the block is primarily residential, which is most fortunate, because most of the residents would be at work. What a tragedy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535/20 "2014-03-12T17:11:02Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I have a strong feeling that particular witness is full of shit. Con Ed takes reports of gas smells very seriously. It is unlikely in the extreme that people all over a neighborhood would have been smelling gas for weeks without reporting it. you can have the smell of gas over a very long period of time without it getting fixed. It can be leaking from many places making location of it difficult. It happened in my neighborhood over a period of years. We’d report it, they’d come out and drill holes all over the place and check it with probes as well as check individual line pressures. If your house line checked out you were OK. If not they shut it off until a new line was run. Eventually they dug up the entire line and replaced it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosion-in-upper-manhattan/683535.md?page=2)