Community Mourns Death Of 2-Year-Old Neighbor Greta Greene, Who Was Hit By Falling Bricks On Upper West Side
One of our neighborhood’s families has suffered a devastating loss: Greta Greene, 2, died today after bricks from a building at 305 West End Avenue in the Upper West Side fell on her yesterday morning, various news outlets reported.
Greta, whose parents Stacy and Jayson live in Kensington, close to the Ditmas Park border, was sitting with her grandmother when she was struck in the head with pieces of an eighth-floor window ledge a little after 11am Sunday, DNAinfo, the New York Daily News and the New York Post reported.
The little girl was rushed to Cornell Medical Center along with her grandmother, who suffered serious injuries, according to the Daily News, but doctors were unable to save the toddler. The family is planning to donate the girl’s organs, the Daily New reported.
Following the tragic incident, a city Department of Buildings spokesperson said the building from where the bricks fell, The Esplanade, a nursing home, has been given a violation for failure to maintain the facade, which carries a fine ranging from $1,000 to $25,000.
The DOB told DNAinfo that the building was not undergoing any construction work, but a police source told DNAinfo that the agency is looking into whether any work was being done without the DOB’s knowledge.
The New York Post reported:
The dangerous exterior has gotten them in trouble before. In 2010-2011, the owners paid the DOB $6,467 in fines for failing to show they had performed a facade inspection on time.
Neighbors remembered Greta lovingly, with DNainfo writing:
They are a “strong and wonderful family,” said Veronica Price, 37, a neighbor living in their Kensington, Brooklyn, apartment building.
The building is tight-knit, and all of the families know each other, she added.
Veronica went on to describe Greta as “a very lovely and sunny kid.”
The Scharf family, which owns and manages The Esplanade, issued a statement, according to DNAinfo:
“The entire Scharf family is heartbroken by this tragedy,” it read. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Greta Greene’s family.”
The owners are cooperating with the DOB “to determine the cause of this horrible incident and to safeguard the public,” the statement said.
When DNAinfo asked the Scharf family when the last restoration work was done on the building’s facade, the news outlet reported they declined to say.
We send our deepest condolences to Greta’s family and friends. If anyone knows if there’s anything we as neighbors can do for them, please let us know. You can email us at editor@kensingtonbk.com.
