Police: Child Struck By Debris On Upper West Side Is Dead
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The 2-year-old girl struck by debris that fell from an Upper West Side building is dead, according to police.
Police told CBS2 late Monday that the girl, Greta Greene, was dead late Monday. She was declared brain dead earlier Monday.
Her family told CBS2's Diane Macedo they are planning on donating her organs.
Greta and her grandmother, Susan Frierson, were struck just after 11 a.m. Sunday at 305 West End Avenue near 74th Street. A large chunk of a window ledge at the Esplanade Senior Residences fell on the two as they sat on a bench outside the nursing home.
Workers have constructed a scaffolding around the Esplanade as the rest of the building gets checked out.
Child Struck By Debris On Upper West Side Brain Dead
"All I heard was a big boom," said doorman Nelson Amaya. "And when I looked, I see a woman picking up the baby. I see the baby lifeless."
The girl was struck on the head and knocked unconscious. The grandmother suffered serious leg injuries, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Amaya called 911 while nurses from inside the nursing home performed CPR until EMS arrived.
Investigators Looking Into Why Debris Fell From Upper West Side Building
"We helped her, resuscitate her until the ambulance came," a nurse told Macedo.
"It was really a chaotic scene. They were frantic," said neighbor Rory Pinto.
Greta was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where surgeons operated to relieve swelling in the brain.
"The entire Scharf family is heartbroken by this tragedy," the owners and operators of the Esplanade said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Greta Greene's family. We are fully cooperating with city emergency response agencies and the Department of Buildings to determine the cause of this horrible incident and to safeguard the public."
"I live in the neighborhood and as it turns out I was with here with my children late last week and we were sitting on a bench in front of the Esplanade," said Jeff Zaretski. The Esplanade is the only building with benches, making it a popular spot for locals to sit and talk.
"As a grandparent, I can relate. Every grandparent thinks their grandchild is the most special, and every one of them is," the president of the building's co-op board told 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa.
The Department of Buildings said the eighth-story ledge, made of porous terracotta material, may have become water-logged by rain causing it to crumble off the building.
The building was immediately hit with two city code violations.
The DOB said there had not been any recent complaints about the Esplanade's facade.
Owners of New York City buildings 6 stories or taller must have their facades inspected every 5 years. The Esplanade was last inspected in 2011 and conditions were deemed safe, though the owners were issued a hefty fine for failing to show they performed a facade inspection on time, Diamond reported.
"It's really necessary to have the inspections happen properly," said Upper West Side resident Michelle Timek. "If they're not happening, then maybe they need to happen more frequently."
"I'm not sure it's criminal, but it's definitely negligence, for sure," a neighbor told Papa.
