Project manager and architect Erica Tishman, 60, died when she was struck and killed by a piece of debris that fell off a building at the corner of West 49th Street and Seventh Avenue near Times Square on Dec. 17, police say.
A NYPD spokesperson sad police found an unconscious woman with head trauma in front of 152 West 49th St. When EMTs arrived at the scene a few minutes later, they pronounced her dead. The debris fell amid heavy rainfall, the Commercial Observer (CO) reported.
Tishman, an architect who obtained her master’s degree at Harvard University, was a vice-president at Zubatkin Owner Representation, based nearby at 333 West 52nd St..
The New York Daily News reported that the debris “appeared to be a cornice or a piece of one of the lion’s head gargoyles that line the façade.”
NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors responded to an incident at 729 Seventh Ave., owned by Himmel + Meringoff Properties. Investigators are inspecting the facade and structural stability of the 15-story property, which is adjacent to the building where Tishman was found, a DOB spokeswoman said. DOB and NYPD investigations into the incident are ongoing, CO reported.
“This is a tragedy, and the family and friends of the victim are in our thoughts,” DOB spokeswoman Abigail Kunitz said in a statement. “No pedestrian should be at risk from dangerous façade conditions.”
The New York Post broke the initial story about her death.
“We are saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family,” a spokesman said for Himmel + Meringoff in a statement. “The company will fully cooperate with the city in the ongoing matter.”
