Last week, a heartbreaking incident occurred in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where a 74-year-old woman tragically lost her life in a horrific accident involving falling debris from her own residence.
While clearing snow from her home’s steps, a substantial piece of the decorative brick facade located above the entrance of a three-story brownstone at 5402 6th Ave. and 54th Street, disastrously fell upon her.
The moment when the facade started to collapse was caught on surveillance footage, leading to her immediate rush to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was sadly declared deceased.
This devastating event not only claimed a life but also sparked grave concerns regarding the structural safety and upkeep of older buildings within our city environments.
Following the incident, the Department of Buildings conducted a thorough investigation, uncovering a significant negligence that led to a Vacate Order for the premises and a citation against the property owner for failing to properly maintain the building.
Although these measures are crucial, they offer little solace to those grieving this loss and underscore a widespread problem in the management and safety standards of our urban housing.
In a related context, our firm represented the family of 2-year-old Greta Green, who died in a similarly tragic event when a piece of decorative terra cotta broke off and plummeted eight stories from a building on the Upper West Side, striking her in front of her grandmother.
This case highlighted the inadequacies of New York State’s “zone of danger” law, which initially did not allow grandparents to seek compensation for emotional distress witnessed upon the death of a grandchild. Initially, the grandmother’s case was dismissed, but thanks to our lawyers’ relentless advocacy, the Court of Appeals overturned this decision.
Not only was the grandmother’s claim reinstated, but this pivotal ruling also expanded the scope of “zone of danger” damages to include grandparents, demonstrating our firm’s commitment to legal reform, justice, and urging property owners to maintain their buildings adequately to avert such heart-wrenching incidents.
