Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Tagged with premises liability nyc

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Trump Village where the woman was killed by a solar panelA tragic accident at Trump Village in Brighton Beach has claimed the life of a 76-year-old woman after high winds from a powerful nor’easter tore a solar panel loose from a carport and sent it flying through the air.

According to reports, Lyudmila Braun was walking near Ocean Parkway and Brighton Beach Avenue around 10:30 a.m. Sunday when a large solar panel—measuring approximately 3½ feet by 7 feet—detached from a steel carport at an outdoor parking lot and struck her in the head. She was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) later issued a partial vacate order for the lot owned by Trump Village Apartments Two Owner LLC, citing unsafe conditions. Inspectors ordered the area beneath the carport to be cleared while investigators determine whether the solar installation or the carport’s construction failed to meet wind-resistance or building-code standards.

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Mitchel Housing Complex in the Bronx where the collpase occuredWhen a portion of the 20-story Mitchel Houses in the Bronx collapsed on October 1, 2025, after an explosion in a ventilation shaft, hundreds of families were forced to evacuate. While no injuries were reported, residents lost access to their homes, belongings, and sense of safety. The collapse raises important questions about tenants’ rights, the legal responsibility of public housing authorities, and the options available to residents after such a catastrophic event.

Tenant Rights After a Building Collapse

New York tenants are legally entitled to safe and habitable housing. When a building becomes structurally unsafe—whether due to poor maintenance, faulty equipment, or systemic neglect—residents may have legal claims for:

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The building where the deadly collapse occuredA fatal construction accident in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, has placed the spotlight squarely on the property owner’s failure to maintain a safe structure. Following the collapse of a parapet wall that killed a 58-year-old worker, New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors documented severe façade defects at the one-story garage located at 113 Sunnyside Avenue.

The Deadly Collapse

The accident occurred just before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, when the worker was struck in the back by a collapsing parapet wall while on the roof of the garage, which shares a lot with a six-story building at 224 Highland Boulevard. Emergency responders removed him from the roof using an aerial ladder, but he was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital.

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The Hip Hop that partially collapsed in BrooklynAs Brooklyn personal injury lawyers, we are closely following the recent ceiling collapse at the IHOP in Flatlands that left nine people injured and forced the restaurant to shut down. On September 5, 2025, a 10-by-10-inch section of the ceiling, weakened by water damage, fell onto diners. Five victims were transported to area hospitals, while four others received treatment at the scene. City inspectors later issued a vacate order and cited the property owner for failure to maintain the premises.

What Happened

  • A section of the ceiling collapsed due to water damage.

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the building where the victim was rapedOur NYC Premises Liability Lawyers Examine Legal Options for Victims of Inadequate Security

A 23-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in her own apartment in Jamaica, Queens early Saturday morning, according to the NYPD. The disturbing incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. in a building on 94th Avenue—leaving residents shaken and wondering how an intruder was able to gain access despite the building reportedly having security in place.

Police say the suspect entered the woman’s apartment and raped her before fleeing with her bed sheets. She was transported to Queens Hospital and is in stable condition. As of now, the suspect remains at large.

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New York City aging buildings at risk of collapseIn a monumental move to safeguard New York City’s residents, the City Council has passed a bill mandating proactive inspections for residential buildings based on their structural risks. As building collapse attorneys in New York City, this development is not only welcome but long overdue. The city’s new initiative promises to prevent tragedies by identifying potential hazards before they become catastrophic failures.

A Shift from Reactive to Proactive

Historically, New York City’s approach to building safety has been largely reactive, relying on complaints and reports of visible damage before taking action. This method has proven insufficient, as evidenced by recent incidents of structural collapses that have caused significant disruption and loss.

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DOB NYCAs building collapse attorneys based in New York City, we are deeply concerned about the recent findings concerning the parking garage collapse in Lower Manhattan. More than a year has passed since this tragic event, and the root cause remains undetermined, highlighting significant gaps in our city’s approach to building safety and regulation.

The recent declaration by the Department of Buildings (DOB) that the Ann Street parking garage did not fail due to overloading is a critical piece of information. It suggests that other factors, possibly related to the structural integrity of the building itself, might have led to the collapse. Notably, University of Arizona engineering professor Sammy Tin speculated that the garage’s condition at the time of collapse might have been a contributing factor, despite the walls and pillars appearing pristine and undamaged.

It’s alarming to learn that prior to the collapse, there were open violations dating back to 2003 and 2009 for issues such as loose or missing concrete. These findings were brought to light almost immediately after the collapse by investigative journalists. This raises significant concerns about the enforcement of building codes and the efficacy of the inspections process in New York City.

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Fazil Khan victim of a lithium battery explosionIn an urgent response to the rising threat posed by lithium-ion battery fires, New York City Council has enacted two new e-bike safety regulations. This legislative action, motivated by a tragic fire in Harlem sparked by a lithium-ion battery, underscores the city’s commitment to addressing the dangers associated with these batteries. The fire accident, which claimed the life of 27-year-old Fazil Khan, a young journalist,  and critically injured four others, has catalyzed a city-wide discourse on the safety of e-mobility devices.

The first rule mandates that businesses selling e-bikes and e-scooters must display safety information regarding the storage of lithium-ion batteries both in-store and online. This is a critical measure aimed at educating the public on proper battery handling to mitigate fire risks. The second regulation intensifies the crackdown on the sale of non-UL-certified batteries by enhancing penalties for illegal sales and bolstering city enforcement. These steps, while significant, are part of a broader call for comprehensive federal legislation to ensure the sale of only certified batteries across the United States.

Parallel to these legislative efforts, New York City is pioneering a solution to one of the most pressing issues related to e-bike safety: battery charging. The city has launched a pilot program to establish public e-bike charging hubs in Manhattan and Brooklyn, offering a safer alternative to charging batteries indoors. The initiative kicked off with the unveiling of the first hub at Cooper Square in the East Village.

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Monterey garage in UWS has structural issuesThe recent collapse of a parking garage in Lower Manhattan, which resulted in the loss of a life and injuries to several individuals, has raised concerns about the safety and condition of parking structures throughout New York. In response, city officials conducted inspections of numerous garages, uncovering widespread structural problems that have been allowed to persist for years. This blog explores the findings of The New York Times’ investigation into the state of these garages, shedding light on the hazards faced by both employees and customers.

The investigation by The New York Times has revealed that serious structural issues are prevalent among parking garages across the city. Crumbling ceilings, exposed and rusting reinforcing bars, and other defects have been identified in over three dozen garages including the Monterey Garage in the UWS where the DOT documented that a 12 by 18-inch chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling. Shockingly, many of these garages have continued to operate despite the documented hazards. In some cases, inspections uncovered garages that were exceeding their capacity, with exits blocked on multiple levels due to overcrowding.

Neglected Violations

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The poor maintenance of a NYC residential building caused a woman to fall to the basement of her building after a bathroom floor collapsed. The woman was injured and is now recovering in the hospital. After the accident occurred, the Department of Buildings came to the premises located on Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx and started an investigation of the premises. They found that a lack of maintenance lead to a collapse of the portion of the bathroom floor to the basement. A partial vacate order was issued and the landlord was issued a violation for failure to maintain his property. The DOB also ordered him to hire a professional engineer to produce a report on the structural stability of the other floors of the apartment.

Other tenants are scared for their life

While the DOB focused mostly on the apartment where the accident occurred, a CBS crew went to visit the tenants on other floors and the video below shows that the entire building is in serious need of repair. Other tenants are concerned that the same accident may occur to them as well and do not feel safe in their apartments. They have been complaining to the landlord for years about the need for maintenance but the landlord has not done anything. Leeks are everywhere, bathroom ceilings are destroyed,  and when it rains, water is pouring on the stairways and in the apartment of a tenant. Doors that can not be closed so damaged they are by water, broken sink, tiles that barely hold on the walls of showers in multiple apartments visited by the tv crew show a building in total disrepair and in real need of maintenance.