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Worker Dies After Falling at Upper East Side Construction Site, Police Say

By  Camille Bautista and Trevor Kapp | December 23, 2016 2:09pm | Updated on December 27, 2016 3:38pm

 A 30-year-old construction worker fell to his death Friday morning at a construction site on 87th Street near Lexington Avenue, police said.
A 30-year-old construction worker fell to his death Friday morning at a construction site on 87th Street near Lexington Avenue, police said.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

UPPER EAST SIDE — A 30-year-old construction worker died Friday morning after falling more than three stories down an elevator shaft at an Upper East Side site, police said.

The man was on the third floor of 152 East 87th St. near Lexington Avenue around 9:20 a.m. when he plunged to the basement, an NYPD spokesman said.

The worker, Mahamoudon Marega of The Bronx, suffered head trauma. He was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The city’s Department of Buildings placed a full stop-work order at the site after the fall, officials said. The property is expected to house a 19-story luxury apartment tower.

The DOB is investigating the incident as a worker-fall incident and it does not appear to be elevator related, sources said.

Marega was employed by Highbury Construction, a subcontractor for the Noble Construction Group, which is heading the project, according to police.

The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Highbury Construction of Bronxville $4,900 in 2014 for not meeting fall protection standards at a site in Boerum Hill, records show.

Similarly, OSHA fined Noble Construction Group $3,500 in March for not meeting fall protection standards at one of its Flushing sites, according to records.

Noble Construction Group and Highbury Concrete released a joint statement on Friday afternoon, saying that everyone involved in the project is "deeply saddened by today’s event and extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and co-workers."

"We are working closely with all parties to determine the cause of the accident and will provide any assistance requested by investigators,” the company said.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, called on city officials and agencies to address construction worker fatalities.

"Today, two days before Christmas, we mourn yet another tragic fatality on a construction site in New York City. How many more workers must die before the city takes decisive action to end this travesty?" LaBarbera said. 

"How many more families must be destroyed by the actions of careless developers and contractors?"