A 61-year-old construction worker died after falling down an elevator shaft at a townhouse under construction at 130 West 70th street between Broadway and Columbus.
The Daily News reported that the man “fell one story — from the second floor to the first — inside the W. 70th St. building near Columbus Ave. at about 8:45 a.m., officials said….The elevator doors were open and unguarded at the time of the accident, according to a Department of Buildings report.”
Two townhouses at 130 and 132 West 70th were purchased by hedge fund manager Roy Niederhoffer, who is apparently merging them into one massive 38-foot-wide structure, with a four-story rear addition and rooftop additions. They were both built in the 1880’s, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
We are awaiting more details from the police.
Update: The man has been identified:
“Police say the man, identified as Frank Dragotta, of Morganville, was found at the bottom of the shaft unconscious and unresponsive. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Department of Buildings told NBC New York the man fell as he tried to look down the shaft.”
Less than two weeks ago a worker was killed in another elevator accident on West End Avenue.
Image via Google Streetview.
So what that a couple of workers have lost their lives when NYC is strapped for luxury apartments for the rich ?
what an odd comment.
NYC is not “strapped” for luxury apartments.
New York is the wealthiest city in the country and has luxury apartments and entire buildings new and old throughout.
If a successful person purchases some homes to renovate, that has nothing to do with a construction accident. Before making such comments you should reflect that all US citizens that live outside of NYC consider anyone that lives in the most expensive city in the country to be “rich”
So sad. I feel terrible for this man’s family. Life is so precious and a bad moment can change everything.
I live in an apartment to the left (one of nine apartments in an identical building). So this basically happened on the other side of my thin brick wall. You can barely make it out in this pic, but the sign naming the construction company says “The Dragotta Group, LLC.” The man who died, Frank Dragotta, was the owner of the company. The company is receiving a citation for not having a guardrail…but clearly he has already paid with his life. There is also another sign that says the project will be completed in December 2013. Construction has been going on since 2011, and it’s nowhere near complete. Just so sad that this has cost a life.