an explosion at approximately 930am caused two buildings to collapse in a residential area (east side of manhattan on park ave).

current hypothesis is it was caused by a gas leak. ConEdison received a report of a gas leak at that location just prior to the explosion.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/cvptve/cvpstream1&hpt=hp_t1&from_homepage=yes



[Edited on March 12, 2014 at 11:06 AM. Reason : .]

3/12/2014 11:05:25 AM

Should we suspend 0EPII1 as a precaution, in case he has other things planned?

3/12/2014 11:07:21 AM

Who was the TWWer that got in trouble for the fake tweets last year and lost his job?

3/12/2014 11:12:32 AM

Building had a piano store on first floor and residences above.

3/12/2014 11:13:26 AM

mrredemption

3/12/2014 11:13:51 AM

hope he was in one of the buildings.

3/12/2014 11:15:27 AM

1 person dead

3/12/2014 11:19:48 AM

NY Public Safety Audio Feeds (Including Manhattan FD & EMS):

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/1855

3/12/2014 11:32:36 AM

2 dead

3/12/2014 12:18:49 PM

how many missing though

3/12/2014 12:35:07 PM

gas leak. nothing terrorist related.

3/12/2014 1:15:04 PM

how do you know that the terrorists didn't start the gas leak???

3/12/2014 1:35:11 PM

valid question.

it would be trivial to find a gas pipe somewhere that's exposed/accessible, especially in older buildings, and take a hammer/axe to it. then wait. then boom.

i imagine tracing the source/cause of the gas leak will be investigated.

3/12/2014 1:42:41 PM

I could see a landlord try and skirt some regulations and building safety before I believe terrorists bombed a building in a puerto rican neighborhood.

Puerto rican nationalists?

3/12/2014 1:46:37 PM

Puerto rican separatist?

[Edited on March 12, 2014 at 1:47 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2014 1:47:31 PM

I think I read where these were pre WWII buildings. If true, then considering the age of the buildings, perhaps lax inspections, and general possibility of neglected upkeep..... Its almost certain that a terrorist was involved.

3/12/2014 1:52:06 PM

I'm not in any way saying it is likely-- more pointing out a vulnerability that anyone could exploit anywhere there's natural gas.

and of course, other elements of our infrastructure if people were so motivated. This is one reason I believe the last decade and change of "we're taking away some of your rights to protect you from terrorists" rhetoric was just a way to move us closer to a police/surveillance state with the blessing of its citizens.

There are so many opportunities for terrorists to wreak havoc within our borders without a ton of planning, funding or need for a massive underground network to carry it out that none of the measures we put in place after 9/11 would stop. Shit, Fight Club is practically an ideabook for what can be done.

[Edited on March 12, 2014 at 1:55 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2014 1:52:28 PM

Buildings were most likely from around 1910. East Harlem isn't known for attentive landlords.

3/12/2014 2:16:56 PM

Quote :

"it would be trivial to find a gas pipe somewhere that's exposed/accessible, especially in older buildings, and take a hammer/axe to it. then wait. then boom."

...don't think there would be any waiting between whacking the pipe and the explosion, btw.

3/12/2014 2:33:49 PM

Obviously I've never tried this. But wouldn't you need a certain air/gas mixture before combustion?

and even then, I'd imagine you'd need quite a bit within a room to create an explosion vs "just igniting" and turning the pipe into a massive flame.

3/12/2014 2:42:43 PM

I bet that missing airplane flew into the building.

3/12/2014 2:45:50 PM

As our high school expanded, they built trailers outside to hold some classes in. These were electrically wired buildings, no plumbing, etc...

Anyway, this guy I knew in high school, on two different occasions, bought gas tanks from the grocery store, filled the trailers with gas, and blew them the fuck up.

This isn't really related to the current subject in any way

3/12/2014 2:50:36 PM

Wow, at least 7 dead, 9 missing.

3/13/2014 12:27:22 PM

Quote :

"There are so many opportunities for terrorists to wreak havoc within our borders without a ton of planning, funding or need for a massive underground network to carry it out that none of the measures we put in place after 9/11 would stop. Shit, Fight Club is practically an ideabook for what can be done. "

For one, I believe Fight Club did have a massive underground network.

And I think the explosives they used in that movie were more sophisticated than natural gas. Although I'm sure you could do with a bit of damage with NG. The trick is getting the right mixture over a large area, as well as preventing premature combustion. You could measure it out before-hand if your goal was to blow up something as simple as a trailer, like EMCE's friend. While not strictly necessary, it would give a more satisfying "Hollywood" type explosion. Make sure to not look while walking away.

3/13/2014 12:47:01 PM