‘I’M SO SAD’
Falling plywood kills grandmother in Qns.
A 67-year-old woman died Thursday after she was struck by a piece of flying plywood that blew off a Queens building, officials said.
Xiang Ji was walking down Main St. near 41st Road in Flushing when she was struck by the thin 3-foot by 2-foot piece of aluminum-covered wood about 9:45 a.m., witnesses told police.
The wood was blown off a violation-plagued grocery in the process of being remodeled.
“She was breathing. She was conscious,” said one witness, who spoke to the Daily News through a Mandarin interpreter. “People were trying to help her.”
Medics rushed Ji to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, where she died. Devastated family members wept as they left the hospital, declining to comment.
“The lady is a beautiful grandma,” said Patricia Alcocer, the victim’s neighbor in Westbury, L.I.
Alcocer, 60, said Ji lived with her husband, daughter and grandchildren.
“She’s always walking around with her two grandkids,” Alcocer said. “I’m so sad.”
FDNY firefighters dismantled the building’s facade, as well as some signs above it, after the deadly mishap. A property manager who spoke with the Department of Buildings declined to comment when approached by reporters.
“Our preliminary investigation found that an aluminum covered plywood panel at the front of the building collapsed to the sidewalk below, tragically striking a pedestrian,” Department of Buildings spokeswoman Abigail Kunitz said in a statement.
“Forensic engineers and inspectors from the department are still on site, conducting a thorough investigation of the entire building, to ensure that there is no further danger to the public.”
As the investigation continues, the Buildings Department has ordered the property owner build a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians.
“Following our full investigation, we will take aggressive enforcement actions against responsible parties as warranted,” Kunitz said.
Construction crews inside the grocery were in the process of remodeling the basement to add in a food court as well as subdivided units for more businesses, according to city records.
A stop work order was issued on the property in August after it was discovered that construction workers were doing work in the middle of the night without a permit. The building’s owners never got the required permits and additional follow-up inspections in October and December led to further violations and added fees.
The Buildings Department has 18 open violations filed against the property, mostly for doing work without permits, officials said. None of the violations have to do with the building’s facade.
The incident has left area residents rattled.
“When I walked down the street, I was like, let me cover [my daughter] because it’s not safe around here,” said Emily Li, 38, who was walking by the building with her 2-year-old daughter in tow. “Sometimes when I’m walking, I can see signs hanging and with this wind they might fall off, you never know. Everybody is concerned, not just me.”