The outside of a brownstone in Sunset Park now looks like a construction site. Part of the building's decorative facade collapsed Tuesday afternoon, killing a resident.

Police say Dale Singer, 74, died after concrete and bricks fell from the entryway of the building Tuesday at around 12:30 p.m.

“She was a very nice lady, and I'm very sad to hear that she died like this,” Sunset Park resident Mayra Martinez said.

What You Need To Know

  • Dale Singer, 74, died Tuesday after a building facade collapsed, police said
  • Singer was on the steps of the building shoveling snow at the time of the collapse
  • The city's Department of Buildings has issued a vacate order on the property
  • The American Red Cross is helping five people obtain temporary housing

Singer was on the steps shoveling snow at the time of the collapse. The building on Sixth Avenue near 54th Street is part of a row of brownstones.

“That was not her building. She's renting. Maybe she goes outside to clean and she died there,” Martinez said.

The force of the falling masonry was so strong that it dented the staircase railing and pushed out the fence in front of the property. The city's Department of Buildings has issued a vacate order on the property.

The department has also issued a violation to the property owner for failing to maintain the 120-year-old building.

The American Red Cross says it is helping five people obtain temporary housing.