PELHAM, N.Y. (AP) – A rock slide sent “bus-sized pieces of stone” cascading into a building Tuesday on Pelham’s main shopping street, wiping out at least three businesses, including a bank branch that had opened the day before.

There were no injuries because the accident in the Westchester village, home to about 12,000 people, happened just after midnight, and all the stores were empty, police Detective Rick Deere said. “Imagine if it happened in the middle of the day,” he said. “It’s Christmas. People are out shopping.”

Part of the 25-foot-high cliff behind the one-story building on Fifth Avenue gave way, and the rocks slammed into the back of the building, pushing it forward toward the street and propelling bricks onto the sidewalk, Deere said. What was left of the building was unstable and would be demolished by Wednesday, he said.

The store owners, especially the bank manager, were “upset, but they’re grateful that it happened at night,” he said.

The businesses destroyed included the Pelham Cafe, a village institution; an optician’s office; and a branch of the Washington Mutual Bank that had held its grand opening on Monday. An adjacent two-story doctor’s office also was endangered. Bank employees had been reassigned to nearby branches, regional spokesman Shane Winn said.

“They’re sad that it happened so soon after the opening, but of course they’re thankful that no employees or customers were hurt,” he said. “We want to be in Pelham, and we’ll look at any opportunities that come up.”

Deere, who said he has been in Pelham 35 years, said he knew of no previous problem with the cliff. He surveyed the damage from a helicopter after daybreak and said, “The amount of stone that came down is unbelievable. These are bus-sized pieces of stone.”

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