New York real estate firm has two other properties deemed a danger to the public

Architect and mother-of-three Erica Tishman, 60, died when she was hit by falling brickwork at 729 Seventh Avenue last Tuesday morning

The real estate firm which owns the Manhattan building where achunk of masonry broke off and killed a woman last week is under urgent orders from the city to protect pedestrians at another of their luxury properties which has been deemed ‘unsafe’, DailyMail.com can disclose.

Erica Tishman, 60, a renowned architect and married mother-of-three, died after being hit by falling brickwork at 729 Seventh Avenue last Tuesday morning.

The New York Post reported on Wednesday that the building owners knew that parts of the property’s exterior were crumbling for more than a year but did not take steps to fix it. 

Now, a DailyMail.com investigation can reveal that 30 West 26th Street, which is also owned by multimillion-dollar New York real estate company, Himmel + Meringoff, has been deemed a danger to the public by the Department of Buildings (DOB).

Several missing pieces could be seen on the building's facade on Tuesday. New York real estate company Himmel + Meringoff owns 729 Seventh Avenue and knew that parts of the property's exterior were crumbling for more than a year and din't fix it

Several missing pieces could be seen on the building’s facade on Tuesday. New York real estate company Himmel + Meringoff owns 729 Seventh Avenue and knew that parts of the property’s exterior were crumbling for more than a year and din’t fix it

Photos taken by DailyMail.com last Wednesday showed no pedestrian protection was in place at 30 West 26th Street. DailyMail.com can reveal that the building, also owned by Himmel + Meringoff, has been ordered to put up a sidewalk shed but still hasn't

Photos taken by DailyMail.com last Wednesday showed no pedestrian protection was in place at 30 West 26th Street. DailyMail.com can reveal that the building, also owned by Himmel + Meringoff, has been ordered to put up a sidewalk shed but still hasn’t

The Department of Buildings also confirmed that 6 East 32nd Street – an 11-story building on the edge of Koreatown in Manhattan owned by Himmel + Meringoff - is also classified as 'unsafe' in its FISP report

The Department of Buildings also confirmed that 6 East 32nd Street – an 11-story building on the edge of Koreatown in Manhattan owned by Himmel + Meringoff – is also classified as ‘unsafe’ in its FISP report

Photos taken by DailyMail.com last Wednesday showed no pedestrian protection was in place at 30 West 26th Street, a building in the bustling area north of Madison Park, located between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.

The city department found that a sidewalk shed was up in the back of the building but there was no pedestrian protection erected in the front of the building, as is required.

In a statement, DOB said: ‘We inspected 30 West 26th Street multiple times this week, and found that additional protections were warranted. Out of an abundance of caution we have ordered the owners to immediately reinstall pedestrian protection in the front of the building. If the owner does not comply, city contractors will be hired to perform the work, at the owners expense.’

According to DOB, a sidewalk shed permit was issued to the company on October 17, 2018 for 30 West 26th Street and renewed on September 24, 2019.

A permit was issued for façade repairs on January 23, 2019.

The building is occupied by ‘tech and service-related companies’, according to the owners, and has the popular Hill Country restaurant on the ground floor.

The safety fail was discovered when building department officials did an enforcement sweep of properties in New York last week following Tishman’s death.

DOB demanded that a pedestrian protection be put up within 72 hours by Himmel + Meringoff or they would send in city contractors to make it safe at the company’s expense.

The Department of Buildings also confirmed that 6 East 32nd Street – an 11-story building on the edge of Koreatown in Manhattan owned by Himmel + Meringoff – is also classified as ‘unsafe’ in its FISP report.

FISP – or Façade Inspection Safety Program – is a city requirement that all buildings with more than six stories have their exterior walls inspected including flagpoles, signs, railings, balconies, air conditioner units and flower boxes.

According to NYC’s Department of Buildings website, an unsafe classification means ‘Problems/defects threaten public safety’. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to Himmel + Meringoff for comment but had no response at the time of publication.

Stephen J. Meringoff

Leslie Wohlman Himmel

The real estate firm is owned by Stephen J. Meringoff, who has been in the New York real estate business for four decades’ and business partner Leslie Wohlman Himmel , who started the company with Meringoff in 1985

Himmel+Merngoff has about 15 buildings as current holdings between Manahattan, Long Island City and Bronx, according to the firm's website

Himmel+Merngoff has about 15 buildings as current holdings between Manahattan, Long Island City and Bronx, according to the firm’s website 

According to the company’s website, 15 buildings, mainly commercial spaces, are listed as current holdings. Twelve of those buildings are in Manhattan, two are in Long Island City and one property is in the Bronx. 

Himmel and Meringoff’s 729 Seventh Avenue where Tishman died had a ‘class 1 violation’ due to ‘damaged terra cotta at areas above 15th floor in several locations which poses a falling hazard for pedestrians’. A ‘class 1 violation’ means the damage must be fixed ‘immediately’, the Post reported.

The building owners obtained permits to fix the damage in October 2018 but did not. They received a $1,250 citation in April 2019, for ‘Failure to maintain exterior building façade and appurtenances’.

The fine was paid but the violation was still active last week, according to building records.

In July, the company renewed the construction permit for ‘Masonry repair and parapet replacement at penthouse and main roof level’.

A further permit was issued in September to an architect working for the building’s owners to put up a sidewalk shed while repairs took place but the shed did not go up.

Shortly after Tishman’s death, construction workers were seen putting up a protective shed on the sidewalk below the building under the watchful eye of city officials.

Himmel + Meringoff Properties ‘is a privately held New York real estate investment company’ which describes itself as having ‘100% direct long-term ownership of a core portfolio of Manhattan office and retail properties’, according to its site.

The company is owned by Stephen J. Meringoff, who has been in the New York real estate business for four decades and ‘currently owns and operates a portfolio of commercial property valued in excess of $2 billion’.

Meringoff serves on the board of a number of New York real estate organizations and charitable boards and was ‘honored as ‘the Distinguished Citizen of the Year’ by the 23rd Street Association, Inc.’

His business partner Leslie Wohlman Himmel started the company with Meringoff in 1985.

‘Since that time, she has become one of New York’s most active Owners having accumulated a substantial portfolio of commercial real estate holdings valued in excess of $500 Million,’ according to her biography.

She received an industry award in 2011 ‘for exceptional accomplishment and dedication to leadership in New York real estate’ and sits on the boards of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of New York, from where she obtained an MBA, along with other philanthropic organisations including the Trustees Council of Penn Women (University of Pennsylvania), and the Wharton School Zell Lurie Real Estate Center.

The company, which was previously involved in the Los Angeles real estate market turned its focus to New York property in 2011.

Tishman, pictured with her husband Steven and daughter Julia, is the mother of three adult children who proudly posted about her sons' Adam and Stuart's engagements. She is pictured being honored by the Educational Alliance in March 2011 - and was the first woman ever to chair the board there

Tishman, pictured with her husband Steven and daughter Julia, is the mother of three adult children who proudly posted about her sons’ Adam and Stuart’s engagements. She is pictured being honored by the Educational Alliance in March 2011 – and was the first woman ever to chair the board there

Tishman had been a licensed architect since 1985, and was a member of the American Institute of Architects

Tishman and her husband have been members of Central Synagogue in Manhattan since 1992, and she had served as a trustee at the temple

Tishman had been a licensed architect since 1985, and was a member of the American Institute of Architects. She and her husband were both members of Central Synagogue in Manhattan, and she had served as a trustee at the temple

Tishman, of the Upper East Side, was pronounced dead at the scene on 49th Street near Times Square. She leaves behind her husband of 37 years, financial analyst Steven Tishman, and three adult children, Adam, Stuart and Julia.

Tishman, who graduated from Harvard and Princeton, founded DeWitt Tishman Architects LLP and was vice-president of project management company, Zubatkin.

She also sat on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees of the Central Synagogue on the Upper East Side and was chair of the Real Estate Committee for the Educational Alliance.

Her husband Steven paid an emotional tribute to her at the Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Thursday where 2,000 mourners attended her funeral, the Post reported. 

‘She packed 100 years of love and friendship and activities into 60 years. She lived a full life and she had no regrets at all,’ he said.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called for an investigation into Tishman’s death.

‘This was a tragedy, and I am devastated for Ms. Tishman and the loved ones and friends she leaves behind. We need a full investigation into how this happened, and all those responsible need to be held accountable,’ Johnson said.

‘We need to hear loud and clear from the Department of Buildings what they are doing in terms of enforcement to ensure that New Yorkers do not have to fear death from above due to crumbling and mismanaged buildings.’

City records show that the property was also fined in April for 'failure to maintain exterior building facade and appurtenances'

City records show that the property was also fined in April for ‘failure to maintain exterior building facade and appurtenances’ 

The Department of Buildings is inspecting 1,300 structures in the city following Tishman’s death. Some have already been identified as ‘needing immediate repairs’.

Following Tishman’s death, the DOB said in a statement: ‘This is a tragedy, and the family and friends of the victim are in our thoughts. No pedestrian should be at risk from dangerous facade conditions. Department of Buildings’ engineers are on the scene to perform a full structural stability inspection of the building to ensure all New Yorkers are safe, and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of this tragic incident.’

More than 14,000 buildings in New York are required to submit FISP reports in five-year cycles. The last cycle, which ended in 2014, found 975 buildings were classified as ‘unsafe’. Some 60 per cent of those buildings are in Manhattan, 13 per cent in Brooklyn and the Bronx, 12 per cent in Queens and 1 per cent are in Staten Island.

 

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