Construction worker falls to death at Manhattan building, NYPD says

A worker fell to his death from the 29th floor of a building under contraction in the Financial District on Thursday, Sept. 21, police said. Photo Credit: Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures

A worker fell nearly 30 floors to his death Thursday morning at a construction site for a luxury condo building in the Financial District, police said.

The site has received numerous violations in recent months, according to the Department of Buildings.

The 43-year-old was installing a frame for concrete for the 29th floor of 161 Maiden Lane, between Front and South streets, about 9:25 a.m. when he fell, officials said.

He landed on the first floor scaffolding, between the construction site and another building, FDNY Deputy Chief Tom Currao said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was wearing a safety harness, but it was not clipped in at the time of the incident, the DOB said.

Angel Munoz, 46, who said he is the man’s cousin, identified him as Juan Chonillo.

Chonillo, originally from Ecuador, lived in Corona, Queens, Munoz said. He has five kids in Ecuador, to whom he sent money “every week,” Munoz added.

“He’s my brother,” he said. “I was in shock. There’s no words to explain it.”

The planned condo building is known as 1 Seaport, according to a listing on StreetEasy. It is expected to be 60 stories high.

The site, managed by Pizzarotti, received a partial stop work order on Wednesday for failing to provide the required permit for a crane in use, DOB records show. It has received nine violations resulting in fines since January.

The DOB said it is investigating the incident. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also begun an investigation, a spokesman said, but no further details were available.

Pizzarotti did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A few hours after Chonillo’s death, two more construction workers at a different site in midtown fell about 35 feet from a boom lift to the ground below, officials said.

One of the workers, 45, was pronounced dead at the scene on Ninth Avenue. The other man was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center in critical but stable condition, according to police.

It was the second construction-related death at that location this year, according to DOB records.