A 74-year-old woman died after a piece of New York brownstone fell on her in Sunset Park.
On Tuesday, Dale Singer was clearing snow outside her apartment building in Brooklyn around 12:30 p.m. local time when bricks suddenly fell on her.
A representative from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) told PEOPLE that the incident happened in a 120-year-old two-story building on 6th Avenue. DOB personnel were there to conduct a structural stability inspection after receiving reports of bricks falling from the building.
When they arrived, inspectors observed that the decorative cornice of the front facade of the building above the front door of the building had collapsed onto the front steps and canopy.
stock crime scene tape.
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Singer was taken to an area hospital where she was listed in critical condition and later succumbed to her injuries, police said.
Her son, Wylie Singer, spoke with New York Daily News after the incident.
“All I know is that I heard a sound, the sound of the facade falling,” he told the newspaper. “I ran down and saw my mother at the bottom of the landing unconscious, dead.”
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A neighbor believed to be a friend of Dale’s, who declined to be identified, told the Daily news she witnessed firefighters performing CPR on the victim.
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“That big piece above the neck was what hit her,” she added. “I’m so sorry.”
The neighbor continued: “She was a wonderful person. I don’t know how the face of the building collapsed like that.”
According to a friend of Dale’s, the landlord was eager to sell the building but was unable to find a buyer.
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The witness also told Daily news that Dale’s husband quickly arrived at the Brownstone and then took a taxi to be with his wife at Maimonides Medical Center.
The two-story condominium has had no complaints since 1991 for illegal curb cutting and driveways, the publication said, citing city records.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the DOB said forensic engineers conducted a full inspection of the building and issued an eviction order. The property owner was issued a misdemeanor order for non-maintenance of the building, and they were ordered to hire a structural engineer and submit an engineer’s report on the condition of the building to DOB.
As an added precaution, city contractors are installing a sidewalk around the building in the interest of public safety, and the property owner will cover the cost of doing so.
DOB forensic engineers will also follow up with property owners about repairs to the building.
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