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Electrician dies at 555 Tenth Ave.
Steve Simpson was found wedged between elevator car and shaft
UPDATED, Monday, July 24 at 4:13 p.m. An electrician was found dead inside the 52-story new development tower 555 Tenth Avenue on Sunday.
Steve Simpson, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene when authorities found him around 7:15 a.m. wedged between an elevator car and the shaft, the New York Post reported.
Police sources told the Post that Simpson was working in the elevator when the power was shut off, and died of asphyxiation when he tried to climb out of the elevator through the opening.
Simpson was working on the fifth floor, a commercial condo owned by Success Academy charter school, the Post reported. Success paid the building’s developer Extell Development $68 million to buy the space in December. Simpson, a native of Jamaica and a U.S. Army veteran, worked for Patriot Electric.
The 52-story project features 478 luxury rental units and 30,000 square feet of amenities, including a rooftop pool.
The city’s Department of Buildings issued a cease-use order on the elevator. Authorities are still investigating the incident.
In response to a recent uptick in construction injuries and deaths, the city is proposing a requirement that workers be trained between 54 and 71 hours.
Officials earlier this month closed down a block on West 58th Street after a ramp fell from Extell’s Central Park Tower construction site. [NYP] – Rich Bockmann