Injured woman still has no answers about falling debris on Auckland’s Queen St

By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

The daughter of a woman injured by falling masonry on Auckland’s Queen Street says she’s yet to get answers from the council two weeks on.

A small piece of concrete fell from 99 Queen St mid-morning on February 11, breaking through a glass canopy injuring a pedestrian walking underneath.

The victim’s daughter, Vicki, told RNZ her mother suffered a head injury that required stitches and an internal fracture on her ribs, as well as bruising down her side and some memory loss.

Vicki said the masonry falling on to the canopy sounded like a bomb.

“I was totally shocked,” she said.

An area of the footpath on Queen St in central Auckland is cordoned off after masonry fell from a building. Photo / Dean Purcell

“I thought it was a bomb, because it was a big noise at my back ... when I looked back my mum just next to me, she fell on to the ground, she thought she had been [shot]. Both of us were in a shocked condition.”

Vicki wanted to know who was responsible for what happened.

“It’s really dangerous, it could’ve hurt anyone,” Vicki said.

She wrote to the Auckland Council the day after the incident, when police handed the case back to them, asking for more details around what happened, and what was being done to address the issue.

“I emailed the council on 11 February, and till now I still haven’t heard anything back from them,” Vicki said.

She had been walking around the central city for the last 23 years or so, and had never experienced anything like what happened.

“I don’t want this kind of thing happening to anyone,” she said. “I think the council needs to ensure the compliance and health safety, to make sure every building [is compliant].

A small piece of concrete fell from 99 Queen St mid-morning on February 11. Photo / Dean Purcell

“They should have certain strict compliance requirements before the building can be opened up to the public, or standing over there.

“I don’t want to encourage people to use a helmet when you come into the city,” she said.

At the time, the Auckland Council said the loose masonry was due to water ingress, but it was not concerned with the building’s overall structure or cladding.

Compliance manager Adrian Wilson says work has been completed to make the building safe, and the dangerous building notice has been removed.

“Any further work required would come under general maintenance and it is therefore the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that this occurs,” he said.

The council did not respond to RNZ’s question of why Vicki had not heard back.

Since the accident, two others have been injured while walking on another Auckland CBD street.

Emergency services were called at 5.12pm on Monday to Lorne St where a glass awning shattered, leaving one person in a moderate condition and another with minor injuries.

Three crews assisted with the clean-up and making the area safe, Fire and Emergency said.

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