Construction worker falls to his death at 1 Seaport

A construction worker fell to his death Thursday while working on Fortis Property Group’s condominium project 1 Seaport.

Juan Chonillo, 36, of Corona, fell 29 stories at 161 Maiden Lane while pouring concrete, the New York Daily News reported. He died at the scene.

Chonillo was wearing a harness, but it wasn’t hooked up. His cousin, Angel Munoz, told the Daily News that Chonillo had worked in construction for more than 10 years.

Juan Chonillo (Credit: Facebook)

“He was trained and certified,” Munoz said. “I worked on three towers with him. He was always careful.”

Chonillo worked for SSC High Rise, a nonunion subcontractor. Following news of his death, union groups and public officials released statements lamenting the fatality and the necessity of passing a construction safety bill (1447) that heads to the City Council next week.

“For too long, their safety has been sacrificed for the sake of expediency and profit,” Council member Jumaane Williams said in a statement. “This bill would, for the first time ever, mandate a uniformed minimum amount of safety training for all sites across the city, making the protection of workers a priority.”

Fortis did not respond to a request for comment.

The condo tower is expected to rise 670 feet and contain 98 units. City building inspectors issued a partial stop-work order due to unsafe crane operation, which appeared to still be in effect on Thursday. Since January, the city’s issued nine construction-related code violations on the site. [NYDN] — Kathryn Brenzel