Report: Flying Water Tank Lid During Sandy To Blame For Dents In Cooper Union Building

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Recent passersby have noticed dents in the distinctive 41 Cooper Square building in the East Village, and a published report Monday said Superstorm Sandy was to blame.

The writer behind East Village blog EV Grieve on Monday morning reported looking up toward the east side of the academic building that faces Hall Place, and noticed perforations and dents in the stainless steel curtain that serves as the façade for the building.

EV Grieve said a reader joked that the building might be the in use for "stealth intergalactic missions, and a piece of space junk dinged the building on a return trip. Seems plausible."

In point of fact, something in the sky actually did ding the building, but it wasn't space junk.

The New York Times' The Local East Village site said it was actually the conical lid to a rooftop water tank mounted on a nearby building, which came loose when Superstorm Sandy struck on Oct. 29 and went flying into the eastern side of the building.

No one was injured, and crews from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art got rid of the debris, a spokeswoman for the private college told the Local East Village.

The 175,000 square-foot 41 Cooper Square building was completed in 2009. The academic building houses the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, the faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences departments, study and computer centers, and a gallery and auditorium.

The building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne and his firm, Morphosis.

Have you noticed the dents in the 41 Cooper Square building? Leave your comments below...