This Thursday, New York ordered the evacuation of nearby buildings and the synagogue where an underground passage was found. The city's Department of Buildings that made this decision to "stabilize the buildings above the tunnel" as well as "ensure occupant safety." This was stated by Andrey Rundasky, a spokesman for the agency, in an email sent to the AP:
As a result of this extensive investigation, we have issued emergency work orders to stabilize the buildings above the tunnel, vacate orders in parts of the buildings to ensure occupant safety, and enforcement actions against the property owners for the illegal work,
The tunnel, found earlier this week, was built illegally under the synagogue. However, its existence was not publicized until Tuesday, when a group of "extremist students" tried to prevent the authorities from walling off the passageway that, according to several people, they had built to access the building.
One of them was Chabad spokesman Motti Seligson, who assured, in statements to NBC, that the construction of the underground passage was an act of dishonest vandalism committed by these "extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalizing the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorized access."
New York orders evacuation of three nearby buildings
The illegal tunnel also caused structural damage to two nearby buildings. As detailed by Rundasky, both structures have a single floor and were partially evacuated for safety reasons.
Another building, a two-floor brick building behind the synagogue, also had to be evacuated. In this case it was because the diggers inadequate and rudimentary shoring to build the passage. Additionally, wall openings had created potential damage to adjacent buildings.
As Rundasky explained, the owners of the affected buildings have already hired an architect, an engineer and a contractor to carry out the necessary work to guarantee safety. So did the synagogue, which is also facing an investigation over the construction of the tunnel.
