For construction worker Jose Paulino, four cracked ribs after an eight-story fall were — well, a lucky break.
The 29-year-old Dominican Republic native celebrated Christmas in a hospital bed after the accident that sent him plummeting off a midtown Manhattan building.
Paulino was helping dismantle scaffolding Thursday at the 20-story building.
Suddenly, a plank off the 16th floor snapped under his feet. He felt himself falling and says he thought he’d die. Instead, he landed with a thud — on scaffolding off the eighth floor.
The Bronx resident is recovering at St. Vincent’s Hospital. He also hurt his neck, shoulder and leg.
Visitors include his wife and two young children. Some brought the worker’s favorite comfort food: sancocho, a meat-potato-and-plaintain stew.