A wall collapse at a demolition site in Manhattan has left one person dead and three people injured, according to the Department of Buildings.
DOB inspectors and engineers were called to the scene at 126 Lafayette St. to investigate reports of the collapse at the active permitted demolition site. Department personnel found that while workers were on the second floor, a wall collapsed onto several of them.
First responders say one worker died of their injuries following the collapse, and three others were transported to a hospital.
The four workers involved in this incident all worked for RJB Contracting Carting Corp. This marks the first building construction fatality recorded in New York City this year.
The DOB says a partial stop work order was issued at the site on Feb. 7, and five violations were issues to the contractor for the following safety issues:
Failure to remove hazardous materials and fixtures prior to the start of demolition.
Sprinklers removed from the building, out of sequence of the demolition plans.
Tarps unsafely hanging from the scaffold.
Construction shanty not constructed out of fireproof material.
Storing 50 tons of construction material on the first floor, which was overloading the floor.
The stop work order was lifted three days later after a DOB inspection found that the site had mended all five of the violations. DOB officials say that it does not appear that today’s incident was the result of any of the five violations issued in February.