Eran Modan, 37, was killed when an elevator he was trying to squeeze into buckled and dropped on top of him.
The gruesome accident occurred at the Rabsky Group’s Espoir Luxury Rentals at 156 Hope Street in Williamsburg at around 4 a.m. Friday.
Modan, a resident of Queens, originally from Israel, was the among the last of 14 friends who piled into the 2,100-pound-capacity elevator, the New York Post reported.
“It’s possible that it may have been overloaded, and maybe the car was reacting in a way that’s not predictable,” said Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler. “I have my full elevator staff here investigating all the mechanics that serve the elevator.”
Building manager Goose Property Management called the accident “unfortunate” and an “act of God,” in a letter to tenants.
“It pains us that a young person should end his life so tragically in our building,” the letter said.
The elevator passed its last mandatory inspection on July 13. The Espoir, developed by the Rabsky Group, has been cited by the city for elevator violations four times since 2013, but all were resolved. Simon Dushinsky’s real estate firm bought the property in 2006 for $4.8 million. [NYP] – Ariel Stulberg