A construction worker was killed Monday when a brick wall in the backyard of a Sunset Park home collapsed.
The New York City Fire Department responded to 454 42nd Street just after 1 p.m., finding that a 10-foot retention wall in the property’s backyard had fallen on two workers, Gothamist reports. One of the workers was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was transported to NYU Langone Hospital.
It is unclear what kind of construction work, if any, was underway at the property. The Department of Buildings didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking additional information.
The agency’s website indicates that it received a complaint in 2014 about the property’s owner installing a retaining wall to elevate a flower bed in the backyard without permits. The agency didn’t issue violations, however, noting that the owner, listed in property records as Santiago and Aileen Mayol, didn’t require permits for the work. No other work permits appear to have been filed for the property.
In 2018, another worker was killed after a wall collapse on a construction site on Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park. The project’s subcontractor was charged with manslaughter.
[Gothamist] — Kathryn Brenzel