A 43-year-old construction worker died from injuries he sustained in a partial roof collapse in Marine Park on Thursday.
Workers were conducting repairs and installing a new refrigeration unit inside a rear addition to a closed steakhouse at 3223 Quentin Road just before 9 a.m. when the roof caved in, officials said.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene within four minutes, said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph Duggan in a statement, and found the man trapped beneath a heavy slab of concrete. He was unconscious and unresponsive, according to the NYPD.
Firefighters from Engine Company 309 and Ladder Company 159 used the “jaws of life” and specialized airbags to lift the slab and a piece of heavy equipment Joseph said, but had to call in additional units from Rescue Company 2 and Squad Company 252 to stabilize the debris and rescue the man.
FDNY Rescue Medics, who are trained in confined space operations, treated the man on the scene before he was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. His identity is being withheld pending family notification.
The incident is under active investigation by the Department of Buildings, Office of Emergency Management, and OSHA, police said. There were two other workers in the building at the time of the collapse, both unharmed, according to the FDNY.
City records show that the building — which used to be home to the now-closed T-Fusion Steakhouse — was cited for work without a permit in 2017, after DOB inspectors noted construction of two sheds at the back of the restaurant. Photos shared online by the FDNY appear show that the roof collapsed on a small addition attached to the rear wall of the main building.
DOB inspectors determined that the roof of a concrete extension had collapsed, a department spokesperson said, and that no permits for the work that had been in progress – which included the demolition of a walk-in freezer and commercial kitchen — had been issued.
The building owner was not on-site or reachable during the inspection, per the DOB. Records show that the building is owned by an LLC that is registered to a residential address in Brooklyn.
DOB has issued a full stop work order and a full vacate order on the property, as well as an emergency order to seal the building “in the interest of public safety.” The owner has been cited for work without a permit and for failure to maintain the structure.
Update 5/6/25, 11:40 a.m.: This story has been updated with additional information from the Department of Buildings.
