Worker Dies After Fall at Waldorf Astoria Job Site

Jan. 9, 2025
The incident has led to a stop-work order on the project as inspectors investigate.

By: Thomas Tracy
Source: New York Daily News (TNS)

A 45-year-old construction worker was killed in a fall while renovating Manhattan’s famed Waldorf Astoria hotel Thursday, police and the FDNY said.

First responders were called to the iconic Park Ave. hotel near E. 49th St. at about 9:30 a.m. where they found the hardhat suffering “injuries consistent with a fall from an elevated position,” an NYPD spokesman said.

The worker died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.

Building inspectors determined that the worker was on a catwalk above a third-floor ballroom assisting a master electrician in installing a metal framing system for wiring when he stepped onto a drywall ceiling and fell 40 feet to the floor below.

The Department of Buildings has slapped a stop-work order on the project while inspectors determine how the man fell despite “extensive safeguards” mandated by the city, DOB spokesman Ryan Degan said.

The landmarked Waldorf Astoria hotel has been closed since 2017 as it undergoes a massive restoration project. It is expected to reopen this year.

The major rebuild included slashing the number of rooms from 1,400 to 375 so that the Waldorf can have some of the largest hotel rooms in the city, as well as provide full-time residences.

An email to the Waldorf Astoria for comment about the construction worker’s death was not immediately returned.


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