60-year-old killed after she was hit by falling debris

A 60-year-old woman was killed Tuesday after she was struck by falling debris near Times Square, CBS New York reported. The owners of the building from which the debris is believed to have fallen were previously issued a violation for failing to maintain the building's facade, the NYC Department of Buildings confirmed to CBS News.

Police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious female in front of 152 West 49th Street at approximately 10:47 a.m., a representative from the NYPD told CBS News. When officers arrived, they found Erica Tishman unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to her head. EMS workers later pronounced her dead.

The Department of Buildings confirmed to CBS News that it had issued a violation to the owners of 729 7th Avenue, the believed source of the fallen debris, on April 29. The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings found the owner in violation, and issued a $1,250 fine, a spokesperson for the department said. The spokesperson added that the violation remains open, because the property owner has not filed documentation with the department confirming the violating conditions had been fixed.

The DOB has ordered the property owner to erect a sidewalk shed, the spokesperson added. The investigation is ongoing.

“This is a tragedy, and the family and friends of the victim are in our thoughts. No pedestrian should be at risk from dangerous facade conditions,” the spokesperson said. “Department of Buildings engineers are on the scene to perform a full structural stability inspection of the building to ensure all New Yorkers are safe, and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of this tragic incident.”

Tishman was the vice president of Zubatkin, a property development firm, CBS New York reported. Her company's website describes her as an accomplished architect who graduated from Harvard and Princeton.