Husband of falling-facade victim files wrongful-death suit

Erica Tishman was killed in December when a piece of a Midtown building fell

729 Seventh Avenue and Erica Tishman (Google Maps, Getty)
729 Seventh Avenue and Erica Tishman (Google Maps, Getty)

The widower of the woman killed last winter by terra-cotta falling in Midtown has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the building owner and the city.

Steven Tishman, whose wife, Erica Tishman, was killed Dec. 17, argues that the city had eight months’ notice of dangerous conditions at 729 Seventh Avenue and did nothing, according to a lawsuit he filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Monday.

The lawsuit claimed the city and building owner Himmel + Meringoff Properties “robbed Erica Tishman of her life, they robbed Steven Tishman of his wife, they robbed three children of their mother and a grandchild of his grandmother,” the New York Post reported.

A spokesperson for Himmel + Meringoff said the lawsuit “is not unexpected.”

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“The loss of Erica Tishman is a profound tragedy,” the spokesperson told the Post. “We have been working diligently with the New York City Department of Buildings since the incident to obtain the necessary plans and approvals required to perform the facade repairs.”

Erica Tishman, 60, was killed when a chunk of the facade fell and struck her as she happened to be walking past the century-old edifice.

The city had issued a violation to the building in April, and in September the owners were ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, but didn’t repair the building, the lawsuit claims.

After the fatal accident, the owners put up a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians. [NYP] – Rich Bockmann