Vacant building collapses in Manhattan

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A vacant apartment building in Manhattan that locals say appeared to be falling apart for months collapsed Tuesday, officials said.

No one was injured when the five-story vacant apartment building on East 124th Street near Park Avenue in upper Manhattan crumbled around 3 p.m., New York fire officials said. But tens of thousands of train commuters were affected, their route either canceled, crowded or slowed.

Locals said inspectors had recently visited the building.

"You didn't need an engineering report to see the building was falling down," said a local merchant, John Ryan. "But inspectors said this is fine, this is not structural."

"The building was known for drug trade and prostitution," an NYPD sergeant said. Area residents said squatters had been living in it. Watch the building that fell apart and the commuter nightmare it caused »

Fire officials said they were able to search the structure before its front collapsed. "We found no one inside," Assistant Fire Chief Edward Kilduff said. "Three hours later the front wall collapsed."

Metro-North railroad service to and from New York's Grand Central Terminal was partially restored a few hours later but trains were halted as authorities checked for debris, according to Dan Brucker, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The tracks were not visibly damaged, he said.

Commuters were advised to expect 90-minute delays and crowded conditions on trains. On average, 270,000 riders use Metro-North on weekdays, according to the MTA Web site.

Meanwhile, a demolition crew was dispatched to take down the remainder of the building, as well as an adjacent structure, fire officials said. E-mail to a friend

All About New York City • Metropolitan Transportation Authority