Window Washer Falls To Death In Manhattan

Anthony Ventura, 29, tripped and fell to his death from this elevator lift while cleaning a Park Ave. South building.

Window washer falls to his death in Gramercy: The victim, identified as Anthony Ventura, tripped and fell four stories while cleaning a Park Ave. South building. A 29-year-old window washer died Thursday when he tripped and fell four stories from an elevated scissor-lift, cops said.

The victim, identified by law enforcement sources as Anthony Ventura, fell from a Park Ave. South building he was cleaning near E. 25th St. in Gramercy at about noon and died at Bellevue Hospital.

He was wearing a safety harness, but it wasn’t secured to the lift, police sources said.

Anthony Ventura, 29, lost his footing while standing on the outside ledge of a Park Avenue building between 25th and 26th streets at around 11:40 a.m. and landed on the concrete below, sources said. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in cardiac arrest and later died. Police sources said Ventura had a harness but was not wearing it when he fell.

Window Washer Falls to His Death in Gramercy, Officials Say: A window washer working on the ledge without a harness slipped and fell to his death Thursday morning, officials said. The worker, who police did not identify, but said was in his 20s, fell from 345 Park Ave. S., near East 25th Street, about 11:40 a.m., the NYPD and FDNY said. It was not clear how far he fell.

He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, police said. Friends and loved ones gathered in the hospital waiting room grieving his death, but were too distraught to speak. Police were investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said. The Department of Buildings was also investigating the incident, but referred questions to the state's Department of Labor, which had no further information. The 12-story office and retail building is managed by RFR Realty. A company representative did not immediately respond to a call.

The deceased climbed out of the platform onto the ledge and then slipped and fell.

A window cleaner fell to his death in midtown Manhattan yesterday, after he had climbed out of the boom lift he was using onto a ledge. Police would not confirm how far he fell, but the first ledge is around nine or 10 metres high. The man, 29, was using a 66ft JLG 660SJ but had left the safety of the platform and had not attached his lanyard to anything. The incident occurred outside of the Bank of America on Park Avenue just north of 26th Street around midday local time. The man was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Vertikal Comment: We receive regular Death Wish contributions showing window cleaners on ledges, they usually get away with it, but as this incident demonstrates all it needs is a slip or a trip to turn into another statistic. Sadly in this case the man was provided with an ideal piece of equipment, yet he clearly felt that he needed to get closer to the glass.
 

One wonders what sort of training he may have received, did he lack the confidence to take such a big platform too close to the large windows and ornamental stonework? We will probably never know quite why he chose to climb onto the ledge.
 

The end result is a tragedy for dozens of people, ranging from the immediate and extended family to friends and co-workers, and even for those working for the rental company that owns the boom lift he was using.
 

Hopefully this will provide a warning to others who are tempted from time to time to climb out of the platform? At least then a little good will come out of this sad and avoidable death of a young man in the prime of his life.