Two Hurt in Collapse of 'Unsecured' Sidewalk Shed in Financial District

One of two workers hurt during the collapse of a sidewalk shed is wheeled from the scene to an ambulance. Photo: Jeff Ehrlich

Two workers were hurt in the Financial District early Friday afternoon when the sidewalk shed they were constructing collapsed, authorities said. The shed was being erected on the Pine Street side of 44 Wall Street, a 21-story office building at the corner of William Street. 

“At the scene, our inspectors determined that workers were attempting to install a new sidewalk shed ahead of planned facade work at the building [when] several unsecured shed posts that had been propped up on the sidewalk fell to the side,” Department of Buildings spokesman Ryan Degan said in an email. An investigation of the incident is ongoing, Degan said.

Officials did not release the condition of the men, who were taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. A person who answered the phone of Meridian Construction Group, the company that had subcontracted the shed work to another firm, said he was in Greece but was informed by his site safety manager that “pretty much they’re ok now.” The subcontractor could not be reached for comment.

The incident occurred less than two weeks after the city announced an initiative to get lingering sidewalk sheds off the streets while also encouraging the use of better designed ones, replacing what Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi called “soulless green-and-metal structures that turn our beautiful streets into caverns.”