The collapse of a construction crane that toppled a New York City townhouse and killed at least four people just barely missed the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch of Beekman-Sutton, home to Rabbi Shmuel and Raizel Metzger, and their three children.

According to Rabbi Yehoshua Metzger, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Midtown Manhattan, a deluge of bricks, concrete and other debris rained down upon his brother's home, sending the family fleeing the building and interrupting their Shabbat day of rest. The building next to their's suffered extensive damage, while a building caddy-corner to the Chabad House was leveled.

The day after the disaster, set in motion by a crane that broke free of a construction site across the street and fell 20 feet across Manhattan's 51st Street, emergency crews were still clearing the wreckage and looking for survivors.

"The crane is still dangling over the Chabad House," Yehoshua Metzger said on Sunday.

The Metzgers spent Saturday night in a hotel. Since the collapse, the rabbi has assisted in the cleanup and in offering his services as a chaplain to emergency workers and displaced residents.

"The Chabad House is in the eye of the storm," said Yehoshua Metzger.