Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Man Killed, Three Injured In Scaffolding Collapse In Murray Hill
By
Sophia Chang
Published Jul 16, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
David Kobayashi
By
Sophia Chang
Published Jul 16, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A man working on a Murray Hill building’s scaffolding died and three others were injured when the scaffolding collapsed Thursday afternoon, according to reports and the New York Fire Department.
The man was working at a residential co-op building at 136 East 36th Street at Lexington Avenue when the collapse happened around 4:26 p.m., according to FDNY.
It’s unclear if the other injured people were working on the scaffold as well. They were taken to Bellevue Hospital.
NBC 4 reported that no pedestrians were hurt by the scaffold collapse.
The Department of Buildings said the incident was a “suspended scaffold collapse” and the investigation was ongoing.
A neighbor said he heard a “ton of sirens” Thursday afternoon and saw the emergency responders.
“It looks like some of the AC units along the line of the apartment building might have been yanked out, or looks like they're kind of hanging off a hinge or something,” said David Kobayashi, who lives a block away. “Like those little window units, like some of them might have gotten pulled out.”
Kobayashi said the building has had scaffolding up for a while. Online listings for 136 East 36th describe the building as a 12-story pre-war coop built in 1928 with 79 units.
Earlier in the day, a vacant building partially collapsed in a construction site in the same neighborhood. Parts of a building at 211 E. 34th Street at Third Avenue came down around 10:50 a.m., with debris tumbling into a construction site, the New York Post reported. No injuries were reported in that incident.
Last week, another Murray Hill building partially collapsed: a vacant parking garage at 205 East 38th Street near 3rd Avenue on July 8th, injuring a delivery man passing by. The week before that collapse, an empty gym collapsed in Carroll Gardens on July 1st.
Tagged
murray hill
scaffolding collapse
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
ICE agent shoots, injures immigrant man in NYC's Marble Hill, DHS says
The agency says the man is alive and hospitalized.
By
Giulia Heyward
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 8, 2026 at 5:33 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 8, 2026 at 10:32 p.m. ET
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
Jersey City mayor shakes up staff amid $255M budget gap
By
Michael Sol Warren
Bronx residents will be exempt from new Medicaid work rule, state officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
MTA chair accuses Andy Byford, who's leading Penn Station rebuild, of going 'full MAGA'
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Carol Chen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .