BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo tenant is expressing frustration over safety concerns after a partially collapsed brick facade from a neighboring building fell into his driveway and damaged his vehicle.
Nyandwi Vital, who lives in an apartment on East Delavan Avenue with his wife and five children, said the incident happened on April 1.
"I was sleeping and I heard a big bang," Vital said.
The falling bricks damaged his vehicle, leaving debris piled in his driveway.
"The wall came down [and] hit the side of the car. You can see the door handle came off," Vital said.
"Front window and the back window got shattered," Vital said.
Fortunately, no one was injured when the bricks came tumbling down. However, Vital said his concerns about the building's facade date back several months. He said he attempted to contact the property owner and the city last winter.
WATCH: Buffalo tenant demands answers after falling bricks from neighboring building damaged his vehicle
"It's more than just the car. It's my children [who] live here. They play out here," Vital said.
Two weeks after the incident, Vital remains frustrated that debris is still in his driveway and said answers have been tough to come by.
A representative from the management group that owns the property said he was out of the country when the bricks came down. He said his maintenance team responded immediately and that the cleanup has been held up because of the insurance process.
"This is a really unfortunate situation," the representative said.
"The engineer came out today and the insurance adjusters coming out and the second they're gone, we're removing all the bricks and we're taking down any of the other loose bricks. We are definitely on top of it. The entire situation there," the representative said.
The representative said he was unaware of the concerns with the facade when his company purchased the building last summer. He said he will work with Vital to make things right.
"There's just a lot of miscommunications and the real problem here is that this was not disclosed in the sale documents. This was responsible. The responsibility of the seller to inform us, considering it's very serious," the representative said.
I reached out to the city for more information about the incident and the property and am waiting to hear back.
"I would like the city to do something about this building. I'd like to see the city hold the owner accountable for the damages for my car. And I'd like this fixed, honestly, because my children play here and the summer's coming," Vital said.
