An abandoned mill building located on Ryle Avenue partially collapsed on Tuesday afternoon leaving many nearby residents without a home and the aforementioned avenue impassable.

The roof of the building collapsed at around 12pm on Tuesday; local residents who lived in homes across the street from the abandoned 20th century mill complex said during the noon they heard a loud boom sound and looked outside to find pieces of debris and bricks from the building had fallen on the road.

Marilda Soto, who was one of the many individuals told to evacuate, was dragging a garbage bag filled with her belongings; she said, “I was in my room — all I heard was a boom! My dog started going crazy. When I opened the door all I see is a bunch of bricks falling down.”

Michael Posterino, the fire chief, said he was unsure when the building would be demolished; a demolition crew was at the scene little before 6pm. It is likely the building will be demolished within the week; however, because of the size of the mill it remains unclear when exactly the building will come down.

The section of Ryle Avenue leading to Presidential Boulevard has been cordoned off by fire fighters and police officers. The West Broadway Bridge remains closed as of 5:30pm.

Residents forced to evacuate were frustrated due to lack of communication between themselves and the officials in charge of handling the collapse. About 11 families had to be evacuated. Freddy Santigo, one of the evacuees, was irritated, and unsure what he will do with his dog – he says he cannot take the dog to the hotel and the local animal shelter is closed for the day.