April 7, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A construction worker plummeted to his death at a Ridgewood building site Wednesday.
Holger Molino, 45, from Newark, fell down an elevator shaft while on the job at 3-50 St. Nicholas Ave. at around 3 p.m., the NYPD and FDNY said. He was working on a 17-story development that will be the tallest building in Ridgewood once built.
Molino was moving material, believed to be a plywood board, when he slipped and fell, police said. He tumbled around 20 feet from ground level to the basement below, according to NBC4 New York.
The victim was transported by EMS to Wyckoff hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. Molina had a wife and children, according to reports.
The deadly fall follows an incident at the site in February where a fence gate fell and hit a worker, according to NBC.
The development, which will include about 140 apartments and 96,000 square feet of commercial space, has been subject to criticism from anti-gentrification groups.
The Ridgewood Tenants Union, a tenants’ rights group, has held protests at the site saying the development will drive up rents in Ridgewood and displace working-class residents.
The building, dubbed the Ridgewood Tower, is going up on a triangular lot bordered by Myrtle Avenue, Palmetto Street, Woodbine Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.