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After Fatal Fall, Manhattan Building Stops Balcony Use
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 16, 2010
Modified Mar 15, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 16, 2010
Modified Mar 15, 2010
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Yesterday morning, police say a man's body was discovered outside New York Tower, a 38-floor apartment building on 330 East 39th Street. According to NY1, Connor Donohue, 24, fell to his death from the 24th floor, and now the Department of Buildings has ordered that that all residents should stop using the building's balconies.
A complaint for the building says, "NYPD REPORTED A MAN LEANING ON A BALCONY RAIL FELL. THE RAIL GAVE WAY," and that the building was hit with a partial vacate order ("FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BALCONIES AS PER CODE. STOP ALL USE OF ALL BALCONIES AND 3FL SETBACK, PROVIDE PE REPORT"). NY1 reports, "Officials with the Department of Buildings say the fatal fall might have been caused by a faulty railing on the balcony. They say it appears the fencing and the post of the railing was loose and may have been damaged prior to the incident."
The building was ordered to investigate the stability of all balconies. One resident told the station, "I have no comment on how I feel about the building. I mean, if they knew then that's pretty bad, but they might not have known so. It's a pretty old building too so hopefully they'll just fix it for the future."
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Balcony
fatal fall
New York Tower
railing
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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