A man was killed Monday when an illegally built elevator-type device fell on top of him at a Brooklyn supermarket, according to police and a Department of Buildings spokesman.
The 62-year-old man was in the basement of KP Farm Market, located at 1887 Nostrand Ave. in East Flatbush, just before 12:30 p.m. when the jury-rigged pulley system crashed down onto him, DOB and police said.
Two workers were using the device to raise and lower goods from the first floor to the basement when the man was caught underneath the hoist platform, a DOB spokesman said.
He was rushed to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, where he was pronounced dead, cops said. His identity was being withheld by police, pending family notification.
The hoist was created and installed illegally, according to the DOB spokesman, and it lacks the safeguards needed for operation. The building’s owner has been ordered by DOB to stop using it, the spokesman added.
The building has two open violations from Feb. 24 related to a boiler inspection and one open violation dating June 26 for plumbing, according to the DOB website.
Additional enforcement actions were expected to be issued by DOB once the agency concludes its investigation, the spokesman said.
