A gym goer was injured when a 10 pound drill bit from a construction site flew through the window of an Upper East Side fitness center on Wednesday, workers at the facility said.
Robin Cocking was exercising on mats in the Asphalt Green fitness center on East 90th Street and York Avenue around 9 a.m. when the tool crashed through the double-paned thermal glass, causing it to shatter on top of her.
“I was on the fourth floor on a stretching mat when I heard the window break. I saw this thing come through the glass,” Cocking said.
The chisel had catapulted 50 five feet into the air from a waste transfer station work site below.
A backhoe on the ramp dropped a manhole drum causing the massive two-foot bit to propel into the air, said Kelly-Mimmo-Guengher, president of Pledge to Protect.
Cocking, who is also an employee at Asphalt Green, just happened to roll left on her mat when the steel rod landed where she had been sitting, Mimmo-Guengher said.
She was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital was treated for cuts to her right hand, leg, and head, officials said.
“Of course an accident is going to happen. This is not the site for an industrial facility. We have documented the many safety issues,” said Carol Tweedy, senior advisor for Asphalt Green.
The Department of Design and Construction, who is overseeing construction of the station, has halted work on the site pending an investigation.
“The important thing is that the young lady staff member from AG is doing well. She’s expected to be released today. That’s the most important thing. DDC is conducting its own investigation as to exactly what happened and we’ll make recommendations based on that,” DDC spokesman Howard Pollack said.
Last month eight protesters were arrested for attempting to stop the city from chopping down trees near the ramp of the construction site. They were issued misdemeanors.