Building Washer Falls 4 Stories to His Death in Brooklyn; Officials Cite Safety

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/nyregion/03fall.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=nyregion&adxnnlx=1212508803-8qw0soId8X7lDvJH43adCw&oref=slogin

Building Washer Falls 4 Stories to His Death in Brooklyn; Officials Cite Safety Omissions

By TRYMAINE LEE and ANNIE CORREAL

Published: June 3, 2008

A worker who was power-washing the upper facade of an apartment building in Brooklyn without wearing a safety harness died on Monday after he fell four stories to the ground, officials said.

The victim was identified by friends as Houssain Mosharrf, who turned 50 on Sunday.

Investigators at the scene said they had not yet determined what caused Mr. Mosharrf to fall.

Mr. Mosharrf, of 1212 Newkirk Avenue in Brooklyn, and another worker had been cleaning the six-story building at 789 St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights for about five days, the building’s superintendent said. On Monday, Mr. Mosharrf and Joishim Uddin, his partner, hoisted themselves up the building using suspended scaffolding: a rigged aluminum platform and rope.

According to the Department of Buildings, the workers were not wearing safety harnesses or any attached lifeline, as they are required to do, and there was no licensed rigger overseeing the use of the scaffolding, as the department also requires.

Mr. Uddin said that he was Mr. Mosharrf’s helper. At one point, Mr. Uddin said, he climbed down from the perch and headed to a nearby store to pick up something for lunch. He said he was on the ground when he saw his partner tumble to the concrete below. At that point, he said, he ran away, returning about 5 p.m. to talk to the authorities.

A translator at the scene said that Mr. Uddin “had never seen anything like that in his life.”

An official of the city’s Office of Emergency Management said the fall occurred at 2:05 p.m. Witnesses said that Mr. Mosharrf was conscious immediately after the fall.

“He kept saying, ‘My leg, my leg,’ ” said Aaron Womble, 49, who had been working nearby. Mr. Womble called 911. Emergency workers took Mr. Mosharrf to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.

Officials on the scene said they were having trouble determining who had hired Mr. Mosharrf and Mr. Uddin. Mr. Uddin said that he had known Mr. Mosharrf from the Brooklyn neighborhood where they both lived, and had been working for him for two or three weeks. He said that Mr. Mosharrf’s boss was named Isaac, but that he did not know Isaac’s last name and knew nothing more about the operation.

“We’re not sure it is a company. We don’t know if it is a licensed company,” said Duane Rose, an inspector with the Office of Emergency Management. “It may have been the super’s friends, or the owner’s friends.”

Jameel Khan, who said he had been the superintendent at the building for 21 years, said: “They are not my staff. They are not building maintenance staff.”

The century-old building has 152 apartments.

The Buildings Department has issued a stop-work order and is in the process of issuing citations, Kate Lindquist, a spokeswoman for the department, said Monday night. The building had been cited in the past for maintenance violations and construction license issues.

At Kings County Hospital, friends and neighbors filed through the lobby, holding vigil for Mr. Mosharrf. About three hours after the accident, tears fell as the group was told that he had not survived the fall. Friends at the hospital said Mr. Mosharrf had a wife and several children living in Noakhali, Bangladesh.

“He was a good, nice man,” said Mohammed Faiz, 67.