NEW YORK (WBCS 880) -- Crime scene tape now surrounds a sidewalk shed erected overnight at the corner of Seventh Ave. and 49th St., where 60-year-old Erica Tishman was killed Tuesday by a piece of falling facade.
Joe St. Ange told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond that he was heading out of the subway station on Tuesday morning when he came upon the horrifying scene.
"And I saw a man doing CPR kind of furiously on this woman's chest and I saw kind of debris off to the side and blood," St. Ange said. "It was pretty horrifying."
The building's owner Himmel + Meringoff has a history of serious violations at its buildings and hefty fines from the city buildings department.
The building at 729 Seventh Ave. was cited for cracks in the terracotta above the 15th floor in April.
In late November, the building was approved for masonry work. A 150-foot scaffold was supposed to cover the facade.
Tishman was a prominent architect, a mother of three and a Park Ave. socialite who volunteered for several institutions.