A construction worker who wasn’t wearing a required harness was killed today when he fell nine stories at the site of a new 19-story East Side hotel, officials said.
The 28-year-old hardhat was working near the edge of the 10th floor of the new Gansevoort Hotel at 29th Street and Park Avenue when he fell shortly before 11 a.m. He landed on scaffolding on the first floor.
The worker, who was not identified, was pronounced dead on arrival at Bellevue Hospital.
A Buildings Department spokeswoman said the hardhat was supposed to be wearing a harness because he was working near the edge, but was not wearing one.
Why he wasn’t wearing the harness is under investigation.
The department issued a stop-work order for the site.
Matthew Weiss, a lawyer who works nearby, said it appeared the man fell through fencing on the floor.
He said the paramedics removed from him from the scaffolding through a second-floor window and were pumping his chest as they took him to an ambulance.
The hotel under construction is a branch of the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking district.