Architect Killed After Being Hit By Falling Debris In Times Square

An architect was killed while walking in Times Square a few blocks from her office after being hit by falling debris from a building.

Erica Tishman, 60, was walking along 49th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues Tuesday morning when a piece of debris from a 17-story building that authorities had recently declared unsafe came crashing on her. She was hit in the head.

Emergency responders were called at 10:45 a.m. but, by the time they arrived, she was dead. According to the police, no other people were injured in the accident.

The building had, recently, been fined for its unsafe facade as the terra cotta was coming apart and at risk of falling. A fine of $1,250 was paid by the owners for the violation listed as a Class 1 ticket.

While authorities did not confirm what hit her, they found cracks in the facade and terra cotta pieces missing during the inspection.

Abigail Kunitz, a Department of Buildings spokeswoman, said that an investigation into the accident was going on and that no pedestrian should be at risk from dangerous facade conditions.

The city ordered the owner to install a sidewalk shed to protect the pedestrians and work had started by late afternoon on it, the New York Times reported.

“We are saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family,” the owners said in a statement. “The company will fully cooperate with the city in an ongoing matter.”

Tishman was a noted architect and vice president at Zubatkin Owner Representation, a project management firm.

The company Himmel + Meringoff, which owns 12 commercial buildings in Manhattan, appears to have a pattern of facade-related violations, the New York Times reported. It was issued a fine of $500 in 2017 for similar issues at a building the company owns at 521 West 57th Street in Midtown.