Part of the ceiling collapsed in a Tisch building Saturday, slamming a chunk of concrete onto a foosball table, but narrowly avoiding hitting any students.
Damage at the building, the home of the Interactive Telecommunication Program at 721 Broadway, was limited to a common room on the fourth floor. The concrete broke the foosball table and a few nearby chairs.
University spokesman John Beckman said the damage was modest and caused by a water pipe between the fourth and fifth floors bursting.
'The area will be cordoned off until they get started on repairs,' Beckman said. 'It doesn't look like it will take a very long time,' he said, adding that the repairs should begin Monday.
Oscar Torres, a second year master's candidate at ITP, was in the room when the ceiling collapsed.
A number of small pieces fell from the ceiling and landed close to where a few students were sitting, he said.
The area's closing will affect 'almost everyone' in ITP when classes resume today, he said.
'We need the equipment in ITP to create our projects,' Torres said. 'Students most affected are the first-year students who are required to take 'Introduction to Physical Computing' and need the solder irons, helping hands and various components in the ITP physical computing shop.'
Torres was glad the incident occurred during the weekend and that the building was not as busy as it often is when classes are in session.
'It was a miracle it was a slow day and no one was playing foosball,' he said.
Students and staff in the building called the Department of Public Safety shortly after the ceiling collapsed so the area could be cleaned up, Torres said. Equipment room staff helped make sure computers in the room could be kept clean and away from the dust.
Some students said they heard loud noises coming from the ceiling after the pipe burst, Torres said.
The damage did not appear to be caused by the storm that hit New York City this weekend, Beckman said.
