New York - Building Manager Failed To Inspect Balcony Where Young Man Fatally Plunged In Horrific Accident


The company managing the Manhattan building where a young man plunged 24 stories to his death when a balcony railing gave way neglected to properly inspect its terraces, the Department of Buildings said yesterday.

Revelations that the management of 330 E. 39th St. did not comply with city-mandated inspections came as the grief-stricken parents of Connor Donohue made funeral arrangements.

"We're just devastated. We're heartbroken," said his father, Patrick Donohue. "He was 24 years old. He was a great person who made the right choices in life."

Patrick described Connor as selfless in his devotion to anti-poverty causes and the "finest son" any parents "could dream of."

Connor, jokingly nicknamed "Con Man" by friends and family, had just started a job at SingleStop USA, a nonprofit helping the poor.

He fell from his building at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, hitting a tree and then the sidewalk.

A portion of his balcony's iron railing was "loose and damaged," DOB determined.

Further, DOB had cited building manager Pan Am Equities in December 2008 for violating a city law requiring landlords to hire private inspectors to check balconies every five years.

"Sometimes [inspections] take longer than usual to get accomplished," said David Iwanier, a vice president at Pan Am. "We are in the process of taking care of what we need to take care of."

Pan Am did not appear at its June 2009 hearing on the violation, according to DOB records.

But no action was taken until yesterday, when DOB slapped the company with a $4,000 fine and $6,750 in civil penalties.

It also ordered the company to submit an engineering report on the integrity of the building's balconies within 10 days.

Pan Am was hired to manage the building by its owner, Fraydun Manocherian, the founder of the National Road Safety Foundation and owner of the New York Health and Racquet Club. He didn't return calls for comment.

Residents of the building complex, Jennifer Towers, where Donohue died weren't surprised that the manager had failed to conduct proper inspections.

"It's a little scary," said a resident who feared retaliation if she spoke publicly. "A railing in our balcony is a little messed up, too. We've been trying to get them to fix it but they haven't come yet."

Other residents reported the railings felt shaky because they're attached to the concrete balcony floor -- but not to the building itself.

NY Post

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