Building Shuttered Where Illegal Elevator Killed Washington Heights Worker

The business where an elevator accident killed 43-year-old Jose "Morenito" Fernandez early Saturday morning was shuttered for violations on Monday.

A 24-hour vacate notice was handed down by the New York City Department of Buildings, which records show was complied with Monday. The building was locked up with a makeshift memorial to Fernandez outside.

According to DOB records, the building received numerous complaints and violations regarding construction without posting or possessing the correct work permits in August 2015. The owner of the building, Ortal Salman, was fined $1,200 in December 2015 for constructing two more floors to the originally one-story residential building, including an elevator that was not built to proper code specifications set forth by the City and the State of New York.

A court docket date for the building code violations was set for June 30, but DOB records show that Salman has not paid any of the fine and has no recorded compliance with city officials.

According to a DOB spokesperson, payments of building code penalties are collected by Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and the New York City Department of Finance, not by the DOB. If the individual that was issued a violation doesn’t appear in court, the case will go into default and they will be assessed a penalty.

Authorities say Fernandez was loading boxes into the elevator of La Reguera Dominicana and then became pinned to the ceiling as the elevator sprang upward suddenly, killing him in the process.

Neighbors described Fernandez as a caring and especially hard worker from the Dominican Republic, a small memorial was built in his memory with funeral information posted next to pictures and candles.

The building itself is zoned as residential by the DOB, but was apparently used as a unlicensed auto garage for a time in 2006, co-opting the adjacent parking lot for use in its illicit business until building inspectors reported the violation and fined the then-owners $400.

It is unclear whether Salman owns La Reguera Dominicana or is the owner of the building in its entirety or whether further penalties are to be incurred while the investigation is still ongoing.

A service for Hernandez will be held on July 27 from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Rivera Funeral Home on 1260 St. Nicholas Avenue.

Photo Credit: Ron Puello/Patch