[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/sidewalk-shed-facade-failure\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/sidewalk-shed-facade-failure\/","headline":"Sidewalk Shed Could Have Protected 60-Year-Old Woman from Fa\u00e7ade Failure","name":"Sidewalk Shed Could Have Protected 60-Year-Old Woman from Fa\u00e7ade Failure","description":"Many people are saying a sidewalk shed might have prevented the tragic\u00a0death\u00a0of a 60-year-old Manhattan architect who was killed by a piece of facade that fell from a 49th Street building. Erica Tishman was\u00a0hit by the falling debris\u00a0around mid-morning on December 17 while she was walking on 49th Street near Seventh Avenue, according to the […]","datePublished":"2019-12-27","dateModified":"2025-10-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/author\/davidresnick\/#Person","name":"David Resnick & Associates, P.C.","url":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/author\/davidresnick\/","identifier":12,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a3013950d41a44d6b0e6763649a50fe204ed95d3b6159870ec7dc3bb33ff2c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a3013950d41a44d6b0e6763649a50fe204ed95d3b6159870ec7dc3bb33ff2c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"David Resnick & Associates","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/david-resnick-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/david-resnick-logo.png","width":287,"height":87}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/city-traffic.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/city-traffic.jpeg","height":398,"width":700},"url":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/sidewalk-shed-facade-failure\/","about":["Construction Accidents"],"wordCount":1081,"articleBody":"Many people are saying a sidewalk shed might have prevented the tragic\u00a0death\u00a0of a 60-year-old Manhattan architect who was killed by a piece of facade that fell from a 49th Street building.Erica Tishman was\u00a0hit by the falling debris\u00a0around mid-morning on December 17 while she was walking on 49th Street near Seventh Avenue, according to the New York Post. Police said she was pronounced dead at the scene.City building records show that the property \u2014 729 7th Avenue, owned by 729 Acquisition LLC \u2014 was cited in April for \u201cfailure to maintain exterior building facade and appurtenances,\u201d according to the newspaper. Building inspectors noted \u201cdamaged terra cotta at areas above 15th floor in several locations, which poses a falling hazard for pedestrians.\u201dIn another report, the Post says 729 Acquisition LLC \u201cobtained permits to repair its deteriorating roof and 17th-floor facade\u00a0in October 2018 but did not proceed \u2014 leading to a $1,250 citation from the city on April 29, 2019, for \u2018Failure to maintain exterior building facade and appurtenances.\u2019\u201dIn August 2019, \u201can architect hired by the building\u2019s owners was also issued a permit to install a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians while the repair work was underway \u2014 but the protective covering never went up\u201d the Post says.Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain their property in safe condition and to take reasonable steps to prevent accidents. They may be held legally accountable when they fail to fulfill their legal obligations. Filing a personal injury lawsuit can focus attention on a public safety issue and prevent others from being harmed.NYC Building Code \u00a73307\u00a0requires that \u201cProperty owners must install a shed when constructing a building more than 40 feet high, demolishing a building more than 25 feet high \u2014 and when danger necessitates this type of protection.\u201d Further, the city says, \u201cSidewalk sheds may not be built without the Department\u2019s prior approval and work permits. However, when there\u2019s an immediate threat to safety, owners may build a shed and file a permit application within 24 hours.\u201dA sidewalk shed was put up after the fatal accident, but the property owner still has open building code violations dating back to April.We see little room to argue that 729 Acquisition LLC, which is\u00a0actually owned by Himmel + Meringoff Properties, was unaware that their building required facade repair and restoration and, without it, posed a danger to passersby. The property owner had been warned about the condition of the building fa\u00e7ade. As the property owners, H+M will almost certainly bear\u00a0liability for negligence that led to a death on their premises.NYC Has History of Deaths from Debris Falling from BuildingsIn May 2015,\u00a02-year-old Greta Greene died after she was hit by a falling brick\u00a0while sitting with her grandmother on a bench near the Esplanade Manhattan assisted-living facility at West End Avenue and West 74th Street.In 2016, Maqsood Faruqi, an engineer who had been hired to inspect the building from which the fatal brick fell, was given two years\u2019 probation for having falsely claimed the facade was safe, according to the Post. The building\u2019s owners, Esplanade Venture Partnership, and Alexander Scharf, its managing agent and principal majority shareholder, were\u00a0charged under Local Law 11 with violating city codes\u00a0that require exterior walls to be maintained in safe conditions, according to the New York Daily News. The charges carry a maximum penalty of $25,000 or up to a year in jail, or both.A previous death caused by a failing facade 35 years earlier led New York City to take its first steps to deal with the risks posed by deteriorating walls on tall buildings. In May 1979, a piece of terra cotta fell from a building at 115th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side and killed a Barnard College freshman.Prior to that, \u201cIn the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were many reports of injuries and deaths in New York City caused by\u00a0objects falling from buildings. Most accidents occurred during construction when stones fell out of slings or hammers slipped out of hands,\u201d\u00a0The New York Times reported in 2014. There were fewer than 10 \u201cinstances\u00a0involving random pieces of dislodged masonry\u201d a century and longer ago, The Times said.But the Barnard student\u2019s death led to the adoption of Local Law 10, requiring inspections of NYC\u2019s new, old and aging facades, in 1980.Local Law 10 was \u201cmoderately successful, but several accidents in the late 1990s prompted the NYC Department of Buildings to review the requirements in the law,\u201d\u00a0a local engineering firm explains. \u201cThe result was Local Law 11, a stricter version of LL10, also known as the\u00a0Facade Inspection and Safety Program\u00a0(FISP).\u201dUnder FISP and\u00a0RCNY \u00a7103-04, buildings taller than six stories must have their walls inspected at five-year intervals.\u00a0Any wall elements classified as unsafe represent a public hazard and must be fixed within 30 days. Failure to correct an unsafe condition results in a penalty of $1,000 per month.NYC Requires Sidewalk Sheds at Construction SitesAs mentioned above, before fa\u00e7ade repair or restoration begins in NYC or after a building inspection identifies a potentially dangerous situation, building owners must erect protective sidewalk sheds.Sidewalk sheds, which must run the length of the building plus 20 feet into adjacent properties at buildings taller than 100 feet, are erected to protect pedestrians from falling objects at unsafe structures and buildings under construction, renovation or demolition.NYC Building Code \u00a73307 outlines\u00a0requirements for sidewalk sheds, including a required deck strength of 300 pounds per square foot, though there is no requirement for roof strength.Sidewalk sheds must be removed immediately once construction, demolition, or remediation work is complete, according to the City.As\u00a0personal injury attorneys in New York City, we at David Resnick & Associates, P.C., appreciate the protection provided by sidewalk sheds. They keep people from being injured or killed by falling objects from above. They should be removed in a timely manner when work is done, but we are far more concerned with sidewalk sheds existing where and when they are needed to protect New York pedestrians.Recourse if You Have Been Hit by Falling DebrisIf you have been injured in a falling object accident in New York City, you may have a right to seek compensation for your injuries and medical expenses if the building owner\u2019s negligence led to the accident. Contact David Resnick & Associates, P.C., for a free consultation with an experienced NYC premises liability lawyer\u00a0to determine what legal options are available to you under the law.\u00a0Contact us today."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sidewalk Shed Could Have Protected 60-Year-Old Woman from Fa\u00e7ade Failure","item":"https:\/\/www.injuryclaimnyclaw.com\/blog\/sidewalk-shed-facade-failure\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]