By Amy Zimmer, Olivia Scheck and Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Two iron workers died Tuesday after falling 65 feet from a seventh-story beam down an elevator shaft at an Upper West Side construction site, officials said.
Police and fire officials said the accident occurred around 10:40 a.m. at 150 West 83rd St. near Amsterdam Ave., which is being renovated into a church and community center for the Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
Brett McEnroe, 49, of Dover Plains, N.Y., was transported to Roosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead, police said. Roy Powell, 51, of New Paltz, N.Y., was taken to St. Luke's Hospital where he was pronounced dead. One of the men suffered a heart attack, the FDNY said, but it was unclear which one.
There does not appear to be any criminality at this time, police said.
The men fell 65 feet from a beam on the seventh floor through the elevator shaft and landed onto the second floor below, officials said. The two men had been working on installing steel beams in the elevator shaft, according to Department of Buildings spokesman Tony Sclafani.
The DOB issued an immediate stop-work order on the building, Sclafani said. He said there would likely be additional violations filed, including one for insufficient "proper fall protection," meaning that the men were not provided with nets and harnesses to stop their plunge. The spokesman said the DOB was working with NYPD and OSHA to investigate the incident and to determine who was at fault.
The company overseeing the construction, F.J. Sciame Construction Co., said the men were employed by their subcontractor, Weir Welding and Cross Country Erectors. A spokeswoman for Weir Welding said the men were employed by their subcontractor, Cross County Erectors. None of the companies had an immediate comment.
Justin Goldman, 26, was working across the street at a car rental agency when the accident happened.
"I saw them when they came out of the shaft. The first person looked really bad. They were trying to resuscitate him when they went down the street," he said.
The building where the accident occurred was purchased by the Redeemer Presbyterian Church for $21.5 million, according to the New York Observer.
A document on the project's website said the renovation had been scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.
