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WaHi's First Hotel Hit With Stop Work Order After Construction Worker Falls

By Nigel Chiwaya | August 22, 2013 2:52pm | Updated on August 22, 2013 4:21pm
  A worker was taken to Harlem Hospital after falling about 12 feet at 514 W. 168th St., FDNY officials said.
Worker injured at WaHi Hotel Site Fall
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WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The developers of  Washington Heights’ first hotel were slapped with a stop work and hit with multiple violations Thursday after a construction worker was injured in a fall on site.

A Department of Buildings investigation revealed that the worker, 20-year-old man, fell approximately ten feet when a cinder block wall that was being dismantled collapsed, DOB spokeswoman Kelly Magee told DNAinfo New York.

The accident occurred just after 10:30 a.m. at 514 W. 168th St., fire officials said.  The worker suffered trauma injuries and was taken to Harlem Hospital for treatment, they said.

The site is the future home of an $22 million, 40,000 square-foot hotel that broke ground in July and is expected to be completed next year. The hotel, which will be a 11-story, 54-room hotel. The project’s developers, Edge Property Group, broke ground on the its owners have said that it will operate as a three-star hotel, similar to a Courtyard by Marriott.

A construction worker on the scene confirmed that the man who fell was working on the site, and said the injury wasn't life-threatening.

“It was just a minor fall,” the man said. 

The DOB issued violations for failure to safeguard workers and/or property, work not confirming to plans and for an improperly designated site safety manager, Magee said. Work will not be allowed to resume until the violations are corrected and the site is inspected by DOB personnel.

The building’s contractor, Rose & Associates LLC, did not respond to requests for comment.