Diego Rodriguez Celi window washer in Brooklyn falls 100 ft to his death while on the job. Project manager New Line Structures history of complaints.
A window washer plunged to his death while working on a Brooklyn high-rise under construction, cops said.
Diego Rodriguez Celi, 34, of Harrison, NJ, fell from the 12th floor of the condo building being built on York St. near Bridge St. in DUMBO on Friday morning, police said.
The window cleaner fell more than 100ft before landing on a second-floor balcony, according to authorities.
Officers responded to a call around 8:30 a.m. and discovered Celi unconscious, with injuries ‘indicating he had fallen from an elevated position,’ police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Cousin said worker had no problems at work
The cause of the fall is being investigated and Celi’s equipment is being checked as it is believed his harness may have been broken.
Celi was working for New Line Structures and Development, which has had 115 complaints lodged against it by workers since the company started in 2017 according to the nydailynews.
Celi’s cousin Bolivar said that he had never heard any complaints about the job from him about it being unsafe.
‘I spoke this morning with him and he was happy,’ Celi told the nydailynews. ‘He didn’t have any problems with it.
Celli’s cousin said he’d been on the job for a couple of years.
‘He’s hard-working. He’s quiet. He’s a young man. It was an accident. I don’t know what happened,’ the cousin added.
Despite these claims, nine workers have reportedly made complaints against the company regarding safety hazards.
History of complaints against building project manager
Some of these complaints have included a worker suffering from chest pains and another who had hurt his back after lifting heavy materials by himself.
A worker had also been hospitalized after falling off a four-story building, according to city records.
On May 26, the Buildings Department fined the project manager, New Line Structures and Development $2,500 after an inspection revealed workers were not using carpentry equipment to the manufacturer’s specifications, causing a safety hazard, city records show.
Media overtures to the company for comment had yet to be returned.
The incident is under investigation by the NYPD and the city’s Department of Buildings.
