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Worker Dies in Fall at Construction Site for Luxe 5th Ave. Tower, NYPD Says

By  Ben Fractenberg and Aidan Gardiner | August 18, 2017 2:22pm 

 A construction worker died after falling down an elevator shaft at 281 Fifth Ave. Friday morning, Aug. 18, 2017.
A construction worker died after falling down an elevator shaft at 281 Fifth Ave. Friday morning, Aug. 18, 2017.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

MIDTOWN — A 22-year-old worker died after falling about two stories down an elevator shaft at a construction site for a luxury Fifth Avenue condo building Friday morning, officials said.

Jonathan Lupinsky, of Yonkers, fell down the shaft at the 281 Fifth Ave. site about 9:40 a.m., an NYPD spokesman said. He suffered trauma to his head and was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, the spokesman added.

Tony Ortiz, 39, was working as a doorman across Fifth Avenue when he noticed several fire trucks and ambulances in front of the building.

“I was hoping they're OK," Ortiz said. "Construction workers are getting hurt left and right."

It was not immediately clear what the worker was doing when he fell or if he was wearing any safety gear.

Workers are constructing a 55-story residential building at the site designed by architect Rafael Viñoly that is touted as the "intersection of uptown sophistication and downtown style," according to the development's website

The Department of Buildings is also investigating, a spokesman said.

The building owner of 281 Fifth Ave. is listed as the Victor Group, and calls to the company were not immediately returned. 

There were several signs posted around the work site concerning worker safety, including one posted at an entrance showing how to put on a safety harness. 

281 5th AveDNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

The death marks the latest in a string of incidents involving construction workers.

Three workers were injured in June when 1,000 pounds of construction material fell from an Astoria roof.  

Earlier that month, another worker died after falling 10 stories at a Hudson Yards construction site

A few weeks prior to that, a worker was injured when a steel beam plunged 12 stories at a NoHo site