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Midtown Building Owner Was Fined Over Facade 'Falling Hazard' Before Woman's Death
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 18, 2019
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Jen Chung / Gothamist
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 18, 2019
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On Wednesday, a woman was killed after a piece of a building fell on her near Times Square. Erica Tishman, 60, was walking on West 49th Street near 7th Avenue around 10:45 a.m. when a piece of the facade at 729 Seventh Avenue, believed to be a piece of a lion’s head gargoyle, fatally struck her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“My heart goes out to the family,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters yesterday. “We need to know how that happened. We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
On Tuesday night, workers were seen erecting a sidewalk shed where the incident had occurred. But the problems with the facade on the building had been known for over a year.
According to city building records, Himmel + Meringoff Properties, the owners of the property at 729 Seventh Avenue, had obtained permits to repair its roof and 17th-floor facade in October 2018. Nothing happened for several months, and they were given a $1,250 citation in April 2019 for “failure to maintain exterior building facade and appurtenances.” Building inspectors noted at the time that there were “damaged terra cotta at areas above 15th floor in several locations which poses a falling hazard for pedestrians.”
It was identified as a “class 1” violation, which requires that the infraction “must be corrected immediately.”
The Times adds that in late November, the building received approval to begin masonry repair work on its facade, and that it would be installing scaffolding up to 150 feet tall to repair the facade. That work never started.
"What an enormous tragedy," tweeted Senator Brad Hoylman. "This building lacked scaffolding when it needed it and a woman lost her life. If there was any wrongdoing involved, the full weight of the law must be directed at the responsible parties."
Representative Carolyn Maloney added, "I am saddened and outraged by the totally preventable death of Erica Tishman. The building owners who chose to pay a fine rather than make necessary, life-saving, repairs must be held accountable & should be punished to the full extent of the law."
A spokesperson from Himmel + Meringoff Properties said in a statement: “We are saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family. The company will fully cooperate with the City in the ongoing matter.”
The Department of Buildings added, "This is a tragedy, and the family and friends of the victim are in our thoughts. No pedestrian should be at risk from dangerous facade conditions. Department of Buildings engineers are on the scene to perform a full structural stability inspection of the building to ensure all New Yorkers are safe, and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of this tragic incident."
Tishman was a vice president at Zubatkin Owner Representation LLC, a project management company headquartered nearby the incident on 52nd Street. A prominent architect, she was also a trustee of the Central Synagogue in Midtown and served on the board of the Educational Alliance.
Educational Alliance CEO and President Alan van Capelle said in a statement, "There is one word that encapsulates Erica: indefatigable. To every opportunity, meeting, or event, she always brought her full self. Her presence will always be felt in every corner of our organization."
Tishman was also the granddaughter of Abraham Lindenbaum, the former president of Brooklyn Law School, member of the Board of Estimate, and a fixer for real estate mogul Fred Trump, President Donald Trump's father. (A demonstration demanding President Trump's impeachment occurred just a few blocks from where Tishman was killed on Wednesday night.)
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midtown
Times Square
building debris
7th avenue
death
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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