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Midtown building partially collapses, killing one

Several midtown offices were evacuated Friday morning surrounding the site of a fatal partial building collapse on West 38th Street.

Authorities said one construction worker was killed and another injured around 10:30 a.m. during the demolition of a building at 25 West 38th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, which was being razed to make way for a hotel.

Workers and business owners concerned about residual damage to neighboring buildings, such as ruptured gas lines, left their offices as firefighters attempted to extricate the remaining worker from the rubble.

Developer Fortuna Realty Group, which purchased the building in 2012 for a reported $12 million, told The New York Times it had no comment and was still looking into the incident. The hotel, Aloft New York Midtown, was set to open in May 2018 as part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide portfolio.

“We mourn the senseless and needless death of a construction worker at the West 38th Street construction site," said Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York in a statement. "Tragedies like this have become all too common as irresponsible developers and contractors increasingly put their bottom lines ahead of the safety of workers. Construction can be a dangerous occupation and we demand action to ensure all workers receive the same work-site protections and rigorous training our union workers receive."

Jonathan Miller, head of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, works next door to the building, and said that the construction workers had been tearing at the building for days with a small front loader and dumping the debris into roll-off garbage containers out front.

"You could hear the sound of large pieces of concrete being dropped into these things constantly," he said.

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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...es-killing-one